Bet Me
by twifantasy
Summary: Humans weren't supposed to know about each other, much less fall in love. Ever since Connor was changed by Carlisle, he had never understood how Edward and Bella could have done what he did. That is, until he met Julia. The girl with red hair and smart, green eyes saw right through him. He didn't even stand a chance. Sequel to Leah's Happily Ever After, but can be read alone.
1. Chapter 1

Book 1: Bet me

**CHAPTER ONE**

Well this should be good. My newest brother, Connor, was going to start High School today. He was going to the place where my life really started. The place where I met Edward. The place that it all started. He was going as the Cullen's newest adopted kid, a sophomore. He's frozen at the age of seventeen, just like Edward and where we assumed Alice must be frozen. We were all a little nervous; he was only a two-and-a-half- year-old vampire. We had found him laying half-dead in the woods. He was an orphan, he had no one. Carlisle changed him upon Edward suggesting it. He was rather quiet considering the agony he was going through, but he wasn't quite as silent as me. The only reason that he was getting to go to High School here at all is because he is such a controlled newborn. Once again, not quite as controlled as I was, but much more than any newborn should be. Connor was a very logical person, very smart. He said that's because he pretty much grew up on the streets. Sometimes that was better than the orphanages or a foster home. It's sort of his talent; he can take any situation, analyze it, and come up with a way to handle it. Edward told me that it's amazing being inside his head.

Another big thing was Renesmee, our daughter, was going to be going to school with him. She was going as our daughter. We were keeping the story that Edward's brother had died in a car accident leaving us as her only remaining family. Her aging had officially slowed down to the point of a normal human's growth rate, and it wouldn't get any noticeably slower. At least not noticeable to humans. She was going as a freshman, so she could have the whole High School experience. Jake was really excited for her. Edward and I had been tutoring him and all the younger wolves; the ones that changed a few years back. Their names were Caleb, Jeremy, Matt, Lucas, Nathan, Kyle, and Wyatt. The last four were at a junior and senior level right now, they would graduate soon. We offered to tutor them because they were struggling to keep up in High School. They missed class so much for one wolf thing or another. At one point, we were tutoring, Jacob, Quil, Embry, Seth, Collin, Brady, Caleb, Jeremy, Matt, Lucas, Nathan, Kyle, and Wyatt. All in one very toasty La Push house. I took the guys who were seventh, eighth, and ninth graders at the time, and Edward took the older kids. Nessie came with us too. She has actually already passed her freshman level with us, but she's happy to do it again. So yeah, you look at the world a different way after you spend several years tutoring thirteen teenage wolves and one very smart daughter.

Other changes had occurred as well. There were two new, very different wolves in Jacob's pack now. Their names were Joel, and Brooke. Joel is different because he changed at the age of twenty-one. He was late because Jacob's dad's younger brother had been his father. He had never met him, seeing as he died before he even knew Joel's mother was pregnant. He had grown up not knowing any of his father's family, and none of his father's family knowing about him. Leah Clearwater had imprinted on him, in the same instant he had imprinted on her. They were now married, and had a son, Nick, who was going to be three soon. Leah is pregnant with her second child now, as is Emily Uley. She and Sam were married a few years back, and have a daughter named Jenny. Jenny is the same age as Nick. Emily and Leah are both about three months along.

Brooke is different because she is a girl. Not quite as different as Joel, seeing as Leah is a wolf, but still, different. She was sixteen when she changed, and attended our tutoring sessions several times before she graduated. She imprinted on Embry Call, and, you guessed it, at the same time that he imprinted on her. They are adorable together. Seth Clearwater imprinted on someone as well. Her name is Abbey Nixon. She was thirteen at the time, but now she's the sweetest sixteen-year-old you're ever going to meet.

The other imprints, Rachel and Paul and Jared and Kim, just announced that they were both pregnant. So there's going to be lots of little wolf babies running around here in a few months. Nessie can't wait. She loves little kids.

Edward now works at the hospital as an EMT. He took classes eighteen hours a day six days a week for the past two and a half years so he could pass his classes faster. I am currently in training to become an ER nurse. I'm only taking night classes right now, but it wouldn't take as much schooling as Edward's did. I am doing my on-the-job training right now, and I will be registered in four months. Edward and I are both going to work the night shift tonight and the late day shift tomorrow. We had to "sleep" at some time.

"Time to get up, pretty girl," I heard Edward murmuring to Nessie. I was brushing out my hair in our room, and Nessie was in her room. "Time for High School," Edward said. I heard Nessie laugh.

"I can't wait," she told him. Edward left her room and came up behind me.

"Are you ready for this Mrs. Cullen?" He asked me.

"No, but she is," I said. He kissed me, then we went to wait for Nessie so we could all go over to the house together. Nessie came out of her room in a pair of jeans, and a black fitted t-shirt with sleeves down to her elbows. Her bronze curls hung down to her shoulders, and she had hooked the diamond necklace Alice got her around her neck. Our little girl was beautiful.

"Alright, Miss pretty, let's get going," Edward said. He loved her so much. We ran through the trees and got to the white house within seconds. Nessie followed closely behind. She was only half-vampire, but she definitely had her daddy's speed.

When we walked into the house, Connor was sitting on the white couch, and Alice was dusting off the photo frames in the living room. Emmett and Jasper were trying to do something on the computer, and Rosalie was playing Edward's piano. Esme and Carlisle were doing something in the kitchen. "Hey Ness," Alice said. "Ready for the big day?"

She giggled. "_So _ready."

"How about you, Connor?" Edward asked. Edward bonded with Connor. He told me that this was because Connor reminded him of himself. He had even moved into Edward's old room.

He sighed. "I'm worried," he admitted. "I've never really been a people person, and what if I can't keep up?"

Edward laughed. "Oh right, like that's even a possibility," he joked. Then he got a little more serious. "As for the people thing, you really aren't supposed to be everyone's friend." He sighed.

"Don't worry," Nessie said. "I'll be your friend."

Connor laughed. "Really? Cause I thought we were going to be enemies," he teased. She laughed with him. Connor had short chocolate brown hair, and a boyish look to his face. When he smiled, you couldn't help but like him. His eyes were of course gold, and he stood at about 5'11". He was just two inches shorter than Edward. Naturally strong, but very gentle.

"Well, you better get going, you don't want to be late," I told them. I ran over and kissed Nessie on the cheek. "Have fun, babe," I told her.

Edward hugged her. "Break all the rules, you'll have more fun," he told her.

"Ha, ha," She laughed.

As they walked out the door, Edward threw Connor the keys to the Volvo. "Drive fast and take chances," he said.

"Oh you're just full of jokes," Connor said sarcastically. He shut the door behind him.

Approximately eight hours later, we were all sitting in the living room playing cards. Carlisle was working, and Esme was renovating a house she found in Seattle. Edward and I didn't have to head out for work for another hour and a half, and we were waiting for Nessie and Connor to come home. I had my shield over everyone so the game was fair, but Edward was still winning. We were all waiting for Edward to make his bet, when he froze up. "Alice," he hissed. "Are you kidding me?" He was talking low and fast and I could hear the concern in his voice.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Oh, here we go again," Alice sighed.

"Um," Edward said. "We seem to have a problem." He cleared his throat. "Connor met a girl today, and let's just say Alice sees them as more than just gym partners."

Everyone was silent. What? What was he saying? Was he… was Connor going to fall in love with this girl? No…no…no, no. How could this happen? How could he fall in love with a human-?

I stopped myself there. How well I knew how he could fall in love with a human, and that human could fall in love with him. I had lived that. But… how could this happen twice? And how could this work out? We were vampires after all, and she couldn't know that. Or could she? This could work, but only under one condition. She had to know about us. There was no other way they could be together. And if they fell in love, that's the way it would have to be.

"O...kay," I said. "So, when do you see this happening?" I asked Alice.

"I can't be sure," she said. "I just see that it's going to happen."

"Sweet God," Emmett said. "Are you serious?"

"Well she's not kidding," I said obviously.

"What are we going to do?" Jasper asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Edward said without missing a beat. We all looked at him. "Now listen," he said. "Let's just see how things work out. Connor doesn't need to worry about something that might not happen."

"Edward you saw it just as I did," Alice said. "It's going to happen, but he doesn't need to worry about how it's going to happen."

Edward sighed. "I guess you're right. So let's not tell him anything. He'll know soon enough anyway…" Edward looked at me. I looked back. His eyes held the same as mine. We both knew this story. We just knew it our way. It would be up to them to make it their own. "Here they come," Edward said. I could hear the car on the driveway. Twenty seconds later they were walking through the door.

"How was it?" I asked Nessie casually. Connor was going up to his room.

"Awesome," she said simply. "Very interesting. The lessons were stuff I already knew, but whatever. It was cool to have someone else teach it to me."

"I'm glad you liked it," Edward said. "What are you going to be doing tonight anyway? Homework?" He joked.

"Yeah right," Nessie said. "No, I think I'm going to go over to La Push. Jake slept all day I'm sure, so maybe we'll do something. Or maybe we'll babysit again…" She laughed. The last time she went to La Push Jacob had volunteered to babysit for Leah and Joel and Sam and Emily. When she walked in the door, Jacob was way in over his head. Both Jenny and Nick were crying because they had smacked heads and he couldn't get either of them to stop. Nessie came in and had them calmed down in like thirty seconds. She had shown us the whole story, and it was as funny as it sounds.

"Okay," Edward said. "You can always call if you need anything."

"I know," she said.

"Let's get going Edward," I said. "Am I going on ambulance runs with you tonight?"

He smiled. "Well hopefully not. I'd rather not have an emergency where an ambulance is called."

"Oh you know that's not what I meant," I told him. "C'mon, let's go get our stuff."

On the way over to the hospital, I wanted to ask Edward something. As soon as he pulled the Volvo out onto the open road, I knew the family wouldn't be able to hear us if we talked quietly. "So," I said. "What's her name?"

He squeezed my hand. "I knew you'd be curious," he said. "This is what I know. Her name is Julia Bird, and she's new here. She moved in today, that's why she and Connor were made gym partners. She has curly red hair, and bright green eyes. She's about 5'6 and is shy, but likes independent sports. She moved from Montana, and she has really strong legs. She loves jogging." He paused to look at me. "She lives with her dad, but they really aren't that close. Her mom died when she was two, and her dad's raised her ever since. He doesn't mistreat her or anything, but he wouldn't go up to her and ask if she needed help. Nor would she ask if he needed help."

"Oh," I said. We were silent for a minute. "Edward I'm worried about them." I said. I was worried they would go through what we did.

He sighed. "Me too."

The next day we got home after a really uneventful night at the emergency room. We ended up playing cards with some of the other nurses and EMT's. We saw Nessie and Connor off to school. Connor looked a little confused, and he didn't say anything to anyone. He had probably spent the whole night thinking about a girl with curly red hair and green eyes that just happened to be his gym partner.

After they were out of earshot, Edward met my gaze. "He can't understand it," Edward told me. "He can't understand why he wants to be her friend."

I sighed. "It'll all work out," I said confidently.

"I sure hope so," Edward said.

Around one thirty that afternoon, Edward and I drove back to the emergency room, and went to wait and see what was going to happen. I helped an older nurse get the vitals on a girl who had fallen out of a tree. She was fine, but her wrist was sprained. Around three, Edward and I were in the EMT room waiting for an emergency call. Edward had some training at five with the rest of the EMT's (there were only two more of them), but the other EMT's weren't even here yet. It was only me, Edward, and the other EMT on duty, a middle-aged man named John. At three thirty, the emergency bell rang through the room. We all jumped to our feet. Since I was still in training, I could pretty much go wherever they might need help.

The woman who answered the emergency room phone came over the intercom. "The High School is on fire," she told us calmly.

We darted out the door. John took the wheel, and Edward and I hopped in the back. We took off at a quick rate. The sirens were blaring. "Remember to stay calm," Edward told me as we pulled into the school parking lot. The firefighters were already there.

My sharp eyes took in the scene quickly. What looked like the whole school was standing towards the road, and I could see Nessie amidst the crowd of students. I didn't see Connor though. One of the buildings looked like it was on fire, and almost the entire gym had lit up as well. The last thing I took in before I began to run was Connor lying on the ground with a red-headed girl next to him.

Edward reached them before I could. They were covered in ash, and the girl was coughing violently. Connor was on his hands and knees and looked like he was trying to get his breathe back. He played the part well. Edward dropped to his knees next to the girl. "I need oxygen," he called. John came sprinting over with the mask. I knelt down by Connor.

"Take it easy there," I told him. "Relax." I pushed him onto his back. He let me. "Deep breaths," I instructed him. I put my hand by his neck to feel for a pulse that would never be there. I waited a second, then said, "The pulse is good." John nodded his head.

John was holding the girl's head up while Edward held the mask to her face. "Call the hospital," John told me. "Let them know we've got one, and take him to the truck for oxygen." I pulled Connor to his feet.

"C'mon buddy," I said. I put his arm over my shoulders and we started to walk over to the ambulance. I sat him down and pulled out the other mask. "Hold it over your nose." I told him. The look in his eyes was bewildered, and something I couldn't pick out. I ran to the front of the truck and reported back to the ER that we had one coming in, and one who needed what we called waiting-room-assistance.

I walked to the back of the truck and sat down next to Connor. "You okay?" I asked. He just nodded. The teachers were doing a good job of keeping the students back, but they were clearly all worried about their new classmates. John came running over to where Connor and I were sitting.

"C'mon," he told me. "We need to get her onto the gurney." I hopped up right away.

"Keep that on your face," I instructed Connor. I helped John unload the gurney. I had only been on a dozen ambulance runs in my year of on-the-job training, and none of them had been this bad. We carried the gurney over to where Edward was still holding the mask to the girl's face. I realized with a start that this must be Julia. The look in Edward's eyes was the same look that I hadn't been able to pick out in Connor's. Whatever had happened, Edward was in on it, and felt the same way Connor did.

"Try to relax," Edward was telling her. "You're fine, you're safe now."

We loaded her onto the gurney and I rubbed her arm as we walked her to the ambulance. "C'mon Connor," Edward said. "I want you to keep that on, but you can ride in the front with John." Connor nodded again, and let John lead him to the passenger seat. I hopped in the back with Edward again.

When we shut the doors and took off, I noticed something about Julia. Her ankle was swollen. "Edward, look at her ankle," I told him.

He did as I said. "Oh," he said. "That looks like it hurts. Um… I'm not sure if it's broken…" He got up out of his seat and walked to her feet. He gently stroked the swollen limb. She gasped in pain. "Sorry," he said. "I don't think it's broken, but you'll have to get an x-ray. It's definitely sprained though."

She nodded her head. When we got to the hospital, Carlisle was the ER doctor on call. He met us at the door, and looked at Edward to see what had happened. I was put in charge of Connor as they wheeled Julia in. I helped him hop out of the ambulance. I took the oxygen mask from him, and then we walked into the ER, me still holding the oxygen mask and tank. Edward still had Julia in the lobby, but they disappeared through the hospital doors as we were walking in. "I think her ankle's sprained," I heard Edward tell Carlisle. "She seems to have minor smoke damage in her lungs, nothing I thought extreme. Her ankle seems to be the worst injury right now." They were walking quickly, and I soon lost hearing of their conversation.

The lobby was empty, so I took Connor to one of the chairs and we sat down. "So what happened?" I asked him. I couldn't hold my curiosity in any longer.

He looked at me, and I could see conflict in his eyes. He sighed. "You'll know soon enough anyway," He said with resignation in his tone. "Well," he began. "I'll start at the beginning. We were in gym class, Julia and I." He looked at me. "Since we're both new in school, we were made gym partners. We were running laps, and she turned her ankle. The teacher told us to go to the nurse's office to go and get some ice. The only problem was, neither of us really knows our way around the school very well. We went the wrong way," I could see the regret in his eyes. "This was before the fire alarms had gone off. We were in that wing off of the gym, the hallway without windows. She was limping heavily, so we weren't going very fast. We had just figured out that we were going the wrong way, when the fire alarms went off. We began to move faster, toward the door. Like I said, we were in that hallway that only has two classrooms in it, and no windows. I don't think they have actual classes in there anymore, it's just for meetings. Anyway, as we made our way to the door, we saw the fire, it was blocking our path, and we couldn't get out. The other kids in gym class had gotten out through the door that leads directly to the parking lot from the gym. I immediately turned and went to look for another exit, pulling her along with me. We didn't get very far before I realized that there was a dead end. There was one way out of that hallway, and it was blocked. Smoke was filling the place up, and she was having trouble breathing. We got down on our hands and knees and began to crawl. Soon we were almost surrounded by the fire." He dropped his head into his hands for a moment. "I didn't know what to do Bella," he said. "We were both going to die. That's when I did something stupid. I didn't think about it, I just scooped her up off the floor, and kicked out the nearest wall. We bursted out into the open and the wall crumpled into the fire. I could hear the other kids that were out of the building, though I don't think they could see us, or notice us really." He sighed. "And I think you know the rest. I pulled her from around a corner quickly, so it looked like we'd gotten out the same way the others had. I don't know what she thinks. I don't know if she even noticed that the wall was still standing firm when I kicked it out. I'm worried Bella. She's a smart girl, and she's clearly not the type to just let this go. I was so stupid." He put his head in his hands again.

Wow. If this girl was anything like me, than he was right. She wouldn't spend the rest of her life being curious, she would figure out how he could scoop her up into his arms that easily, and how he kicked out a wall with one foot. She would know our secret, just like it had to be. "Connor," I said. "Look at me." He didn't do as I asked, so I pulled out my stern voice. "Connor, now," I said. He slowly slid his eyes toward mine. "You did the right thing," I told him. "Saving her is what you should have done, and you shouldn't regret it."

"I just don't see how," he said. "I've put our whole family in danger. I've put my trust in this girl, out of all people. She could reveal our secret right now if she wanted to."

"She won't," I said immediately.

"How do you know?" He asked, sounding slightly frustrated.

"Did you forget?" I asked. "I've been that girl who has a secret. She won't tell." I repeated myself.

He sighed again. "I hope you're right."

"If you're alright here by yourself," I said. "I'm going to go back and see how Julia is, and see if they need any help."

"Yeah, I'm fine but… Bella?" he said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to need you on my side when I tell the rest of the family okay?"

I gave him a look. "Oh you can count on that," I said. "And you can count on Edward to be with you. And trust me, if anybody is really mad at you, Edward will knock their head off. But I don't think that anybody will be mad at you, just a little stressed."

"Thanks, Bella," he said.

"Hey, Con?"

"Yeah?"

I got closer to him. "Sorry," I hissed. "But you have to keep an oxygen mask on. Edward is my superior at the moment, and he told you to keep t on. Considering I don't even have a real job here yet, I can't exactly afford to be thrown out." I glared at him. "Don't get me in trouble." I handed him the mask, and flipped the tank on.

I walked in through the emergency doors and looked around for a second before I saw Edward coming out of a short-term stay room. That meant her injuries weren't too bad. "Oh there you are," he said.

"He told me," I said before he could ask.

Edward nodded. "It might be a rough night tonight."

"I expect that," I said. "But I told him we were on his side." I smiled at him.

"Ha-ha. You can bet we are," he said. "Why don't you call Esme and Mr. Bird? We're required to contact a parent since they're under eighteen. I'm going to help with the x-ray of her ankle, then I'll have to talk to Esme and Mr. Bird before Carlisle since I was the EMT on duty. John should actually do it because he's been here the longest, but his shift ended forty-five minutes ago, so he headed home. You can bring Mr. Bird to the nurse's desk. That's probably where I'll be." He leaned down and gave me a peck on the lips. "Oh, and by the way, I love you, and I have no regrets about anything I ever did for you," he whispered.

I smiled at him. "Me neither," I whispered back. Then I went to call Mr. Bird. He sounded concerned about his daughter, but not overly paranoid. I called Esme next. That phone call was much shorter. She first asked if he was alright, and then told me she'd see me in a minute. Mr. Bird arrived first, and I took him to the nurse's station where Edward was waiting. "Was her ankle broken?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "It'll take a few weeks before its back to normal, but it's just a sprain. She'll need a brace," he told Mr. Bird. "But just to help her walk until it heals."

I ducked out then to go meet Esme. She was walking through the doors as I walked up. "Hey," I said. I pointed her to Connor. He was still sitting in one of the chairs in the lobby. He _had_ kept the mask over his face. She walked over to him, and like any mother would, threw her arms around him.

She kissed his cheek. "Are you alright?" She asked. He nodded. She looked at me. "Can I take him home?"

"Uh… not just yet," I told her. "You have to talk to Edward and Carlisle first. Edward should be right out, but Carlisle could be a second, he's pretty busy."

"Alright," she said. "Well, we'll just sit tight then."

I went to go see if any of the doctors needed help anywhere. There weren't too many people in the ER today, so I went to visit with Julia. She was probably terrified, and dying to get out of here. When I walked into her room, they had turned some of the harsh hospital lights down, and she was lying down. They had an oxygen max strapped to her head, her eyes were open, but they looked tired. "Hi Julia," I said. "I'm Bella. I'm married to Connor's brother. He was the EMT in the ambulance. I'm in training right now, but I'll be working here as a full-fledged ER nurse in a few months. Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded. "I just came to keep you company and clean you up a little before the doctor gives your dad the okay to take you home." She looked as confused as I thought she would. I walked over to the sink where they kept sponges and soap. I washed my hands, then grabbed a sponge and worked up a lather on it. I took another sponge that I rinsed in warm water. I grabbed a clean towel, and walked over to where she was. I began to work to clean up her feet and legs. I pulled off her shoes and socks, and silently cleaned her feet. I did the same to her arms. When I got to her face, the oxygen mask was in the way. "Let me go ask if I can take this off of you." I walked out to the nurse's station and the nurse there immediately gave me permission.

Once I was back in the room, I took the mask off, and studied her face as I cleaned it. She was as pretty as a picture. Her red hair complimented her green eyes perfectly. She had straight teeth from what I could see, and her nose was just the right size. The last time I had seen such natural beauty like that was when I first saw Emily Uley, back when she was still Emily Young. Her legs were muscular just like Edward had said. She had a flat stomach, and had an average sized chest. Her arms weren't particularly muscular, but they definitely belonged to a runner.

"Does your ankle hurt much?" I asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. Her voice was beautiful. I wondered if she could sing. I'm probably the only one that had noticed her pretty voice. Most humans couldn't tell the difference in voices unless they were drastic.

"I'm sorry," I said. "But you can take some Tylenol every few hours. It should help a little. Just keep ice on it tonight. If you feel up to it, you can go to school tomorrow, but you have to wear the brace that we're going to give you. Don't worry, it's not bulky, and it's made for comfort."

"Well I'm grateful that I made it out of that building in one piece. There was fire everywhere…" She trailed off, but I knew what happened next.

Edward came in then. "Hi," he said. He came over to where she was laying and shook her hand. "I'm Edward Cullen. I was your EMT."

"Oh, Julia Bird," she introduced herself.

"I'm sure your ankle hurts, but I promise it's not a horrible sprain. It'll be feeling better in a few weeks." He told her.

"That's good," she said. "Um, I run, when should I be able to do that again?" She asked.

"Well," he said. "That's pretty much up to you. Whenever you feel comfortable, but don't push yourself. You don't want to strain the muscle anymore."

"Alright," she said. "Can I go home now?"

He laughed. "Not quite, the doctor still has to see you, but I think he's talking to Connor right now, and you should be next. I hope I don't see you in here anytime soon, but it was a pleasure meeting you. I'm sure I'll see you around town."

"Oh, I'm sure," she said. I could see that she was still getting used to the idea of living in such a small town. It was five o'clock now, and that's when Edward, Carlisle, and I were supposed to go home. Carlisle walked in then, and pretty much told her the same thing Edward had. We clocked out together, and drove home in our cars.

"What are her thoughts like?" I asked Edward.

He thought for a second. "She's… very unselfish. She was really worried about all the other kids in school, and if they were alright. She's one of those people who just needs to know that everyone's safe."

"She's sweet," I added casually. I stopped talking then, they would be able to hear us soon. When we walked in, Esme had her arms around Connor, who had his head in his hands. They were sitting on the couch, and Esme was stroking his hair. The moment we walked in, Esme looked at Carlisle and he didn't hesitate.

All he said was, "Everyone, kitchen now."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

We were all in the kitchen within a matter of seconds. We all sat down at the table. "Edward," Carlisle said. "Why don't you just tell us what happened." Edward nodded, and began to tell the story. It didn't take him long, but by the time it was over we were all stunned silent. Of course, we all knew what was going to happen because of Alice's vision, but it was still terrifying to have our secret laid out there.

"I'm so sorry," Connor said.

I didn't let him even go there. "_Stop_ apologizing," I told him. "There is nothing that you did wrong here."

Everyone was silent. Connor looked at me, and nodded. "What are we going to do?" Emmett said.

Nobody answered him. Rosalie had sat silently by Emmett's side until now. "We…" she said. Everyone looked at her. "We just let it play out…"she said.

"How can you say that?" Connor said. "How can we put our lives in that girl's hands?"

"Because…" Alice said. We all knew where she was going with this. Edward watched her out of the corner of his eyes. I watched Connor; his reaction was the most important. "Because… she loves you." Alice said.

Connor's face looked shocked. He stared at Alice like she had grown two heads. He lowered his head, and let it fall all the way to the table. "And… we will love her too."

Connors head snapped up. "_We_? _Too_? Alice what are you talking about?" He snapped.

"Don't you see?" She asked him. "Don't you see Connor? You're going to love her! You are going to fall_ in_ love with her!"

He watched her for a minute, and his eyes melted into sadness. His head fell against the table again. He looked like he was going to cry. "That sucks," he muttered.

"And why is that?" Alice said angrily.

"Because!" He snapped again. "Because I can see that you're right! I can see, just how _easily, _how _easily,_ you could be right! How easily I could fall in love with her! How easily I could hurt her!" His head fell back onto the table.

"_Stop_," Edward said sternly. "Look at me!" He said to Connor. Connor slowly pulled his eyes up to Edward's. Edward let out his air quickly. "I'm sorry, but you can't control what's going to happen! You can try to change the inevitable if you'd like, but that's your time to waste." Edward took a deep breath. "Connor, falling in love is not an option. You can't decide who it's with, or if that's what best. You can't even decide when it happens. It just does, and I'm sorry, but you're wrong. It most definitely doesn't suck!"

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?" Connor yelled. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT FALLING IN LOVE WITH A HUMAN ISN'T A BAD THING?"

"Because Connor, I'VE LIVED IT!" Edward yelled back. How right he was. We had both been through this, and it was most definitely not a bad thing. Everyone was silent. Connor and Edward were both on their feet now, glaring slightly at each other.

"How?" Connor said sitting down. It sounded like a groan.

Edward sighed and sat down. He grabbed my hand under the table. "I don't know, Connor, I don't know." Edward was clearly frustrated, and I felt his pain. We knew what it felt like to struggle through a relationship. We knew how hard it would be for Connor. There was a slight difference between Julia and Connor's situation, and Edward and I's. I had been Edward's singer. Edward had fought harder than any other vampire had ever fought not to kill me the second he got a whiff of me. Julia was just like any other human to Connor. That would make this impossible task easier.

"Mind over matter," I muttered. Edward looked at me, and the smirk I knew so well slowly played across his features.

Edward laughed. "Well," he said. "That works, I guess. I'm going to tell you this right now Connor. This is not going to be easy. Ever, at all. But somehow, it'll work out."

"What do I do when she finds out? What if she doesn't figure it out? Do I tell her? What if she's scared of me?" Connor said quickly.

"When she finds out, you have to let her call the shots." Edward said. "Don't answer her questions until she's ready for the answers."

"And as for figuring it out," I said. "I wouldn't doubt that she comes to school in a few weeks with it all figured out. She's a smart girl, and she's not just going to forget about it. And honestly, if she didn't figure it out when you kicked out the wall, then she'll figure it out because your skin must have been ice cold in that fire and it should have been sweltering hot."

"I never thought about that…" Connor said. "I don't know. It just feels like there's so much that could go wrong. So much she could change."

"Oh there is," Edward said. "You're never going to look at anything the same way again."

Connor nodded. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew that this was the beginning of something. Something wonderful.

The next few days went by without much event. We filled Nessie in on the whole story, and she was happy for Connor. The school had been reopened later on the night of the fire. They had made the kids wait around a while though, making sure they had called home if they were under eighteen, before they let them go home. Every night, Connor would come home from school and go straight up to his room. This had to be frustrating for him. He was used to being able to fix any problem that arose, and he just couldn't figure this one out. Edward told me one night that Julia hadn't figured it out yet, but Connor thought she was getting close. She had noticed his changing eyes in the days since the fire, and she didn't know what to make of them. Connor hadn't had to answer her question about them yet, because the first time she asked, before he could come up with a reasonable response, the school bell had rung and he had dashed out of the classroom. Edward told me that they had English together as well as gym.

Nobody pestered Connor about what was going on. If there was something we needed to know, he would tell us. Connor was an introvert, and he didn't need interaction with people to help him. He was comfortable just being by himself. Nessie told me that Julia, who was in her study hall, was way too intelligent to be fooled by Connor's human façade much longer. One day soon she would figure it out.

Sure enough one day a little over a week since the fire, Nessie came through the door alone. We had all been in the living room. Edward was quietly playing his piano to himself, and Alice, Rosalie, and I were on the computer looking at some merchandise from a new store that was supposed to be opening in Port Angeles. Emmett and Jasper were watching a muted baseball game, and Carlisle and Esme were reading the paper together. When Nessie came through the door, the first thing Esme said was, "Where's Connor?"

A smile formed on her lips. "Well, he went on a little drive with Ms. Julia Bird. I don't know what happened, but when they were driving away, it sounded like she had figured it out to me."

"She did," Alice said. "In fact, I believe that they are going to drive all the way to Seattle."

"Well," Edward said. "That should give them plenty of time to talk." Edward smiled at me. "Hope his driving doesn't scare her."

I laughed. "Of all things…" I muttered.

Exactly three hours and forty-seven minutes later, Connor came through the door. He didn't even give us the chance to say anything. "She figured it out." He blurted. His voice sounded slightly worried still, but mostly relieved.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Edward asked politely, not pushy at all.

Connor nodded. He came around to sit on the couch by Carlisle and Esme. "Why don't you start at the beginning," Esme suggested.

"Well," Connor said. "Since the day of the fire, she has obviously been noticing things about me. She noticed my eyes the other day, and she didn't say anything about it, but I know she noticed my skin temperature. Today, right after gym, she said, 'can I talk to you for a sec?' And right then, I knew that she had figured it out, it was the look in her eyes or something. So I knew that a conversation like that was probably best not to have on school grounds, so I said, 'Yeah, but how about after school. We can drive somewhere.' She seemed to think about it, but then nodded. So after the longest world history class of my life, we met outside the front doors. I think Nessie saw us, and I knew she would find a way to get home on her own." He looked at Nessie and smirked.

She smirked back. "Oh yeah, because I couldn't just run," she said sarcastically.

"Anyway," He said. "She seemed really hesitant to say anything as soon as we were in the car. She was second guessing herself. We talked for a while about absolutely nothing until finally she just said 'Connor, stop.' She paused to take a deep breath, and for a second I thought she was going to pass out. Then she said, 'Connor, you're… you're not… like me.' She seemed like she was struggling with her words, and once again, I was worried she was going to pass out. Especially when her face turned white… Anyway, then I said, 'Okay.' Then with some serious determination in her voice, she looked at me, and said, 'Connor… you're… I think you're a vampire.' Well after that, she closed her eyes again and seemed to brace herself. I had no idea what to say. We were silent for what felt like an eternity to me, and then I said 'I… am.' For a while, she just turned and looked at me. She didn't look scared, so I said 'How'd you figure it out?' She looked at me like I was crazy, but she went on. She was like, 'Um… well… I know you're going to think I'm weird but I've been literally observing you. I knew you weren't normal the day you were cold in the fire, and you kicked a wall out. I noticed your eyes changing color, and your skin is pale white. I did some research, and I found that what I noticed about you and what I found in my research was very much the same thing.' She was starting to turn white again, and I was starting to freak out. I thought she was scared." Connor was talking at vampire speed.

"So then I was wondering what I should do next. Should I tell her all about us, or should I let her ask the questions? I didn't want her to be scared, but we couldn't just sit there silently. So I was like 'Are you scared?' And she looked at me, and in the quietest voice I've ever heard, she said, 'Should I be?' How am I supposed to answer that question? So I said, 'Um… I don't know… do you want to know about us?' And she clearly hadn't realized that there was more than just me, so I told her my family was vampires too. I think that was the wrong thing to do, because she turned whiter than me, and, for the third time, I thought she was going to pass out. About five minutes later, she turned to me, and said, 'I want to know about you… but please, please just tell me the truth, no matter what it is.' So I was completely beside myself with what to do, so I just decided to go for it. And from then on, I pretty much told her everything about us. She was very curious as to what happens to us in the sunlight. And she thought it was really cool that we don't kill humans." Connor looked like he was in shock a little bit, but he kept going.

"About an hour ago I explained to her how she couldn't tell anyone, and she was very understanding. Right before I dropped her off, I asked her how long ago she had figured it out. And she told me about two days. I asked her if she was scared, and she said 'no'. When I asked her why not, she said, 'Because I know you won't hurt me, you showed me that in the fire.' When I asked her why she didn't ask me right away, she said 'Because I decided that it didn't matter. I decided that if you were a vampire, I still wanted to be around you, I didn't want to be afraid of you. So instead of taking the risk of offending you by asking you something so ridiculous, I just waited. I would cherish the time that we had together before I went in and messed it up. But I was curious.' At this point, nothing that she told me tonight would surprise me. So, I told her I'm glad I wasn't offended, and dropped her off at her house." Connor looked at his feet. "We decided to go driving again tomorrow, so we can talk more. I'm picking her up at ten, and I don't know how long we'll be out."

He looked up, and I thought that if he could, he would have tears in his eyes. "We can't go back now." He said with emotion clear in his voice.

"Back where sweetie?" Esme asked.

He looked at Edward then. "Back to the time before we fell in love with each other."

At that point, I was completely shocked. They had gotten so far within only about two weeks of knowing each other. They could move on to the next part of their relationship now. I looked at Edward and he was smiling the smile that could make my dead heart beat. "Hey Connor?" Edward said. Connor was still looking at him. "I know you don't believe me, but everything gets better from here on out. I promise."

Connor laughed grimly. "Right," he said. "Oh and by the way, I know this sounds wrong, but how do you kiss a human?" Edward and I cracked up. We were literally clutching our sides we were laughing so hard.

"Very carefully," Edward said.

"Oh and make sure you're holding her down the first time you kiss her, because… well let's just say that you aren't the only one who has to control yourself." I said.

Edward was laughing again. "Good point," he said.

He leaned over and kissed me for the briefest moment. "I like that kind of kissing better," he said.

"Me too," I said quietly. After all these years he still took my breath away.

"I'm worried," Connor said.

"Well, that's because you're not stupid," I told him. "Only a stupid person wouldn't be worried."

He sighed "I guess you're right," he said.

Edward stood up then. "Well, you have no idea how much you've cleared the air tonight. It will be much more comfortable tomorrow." It was now getting close to ten at night. "C'mon Ness," he said. "It's getting late, time to go home."

She stood up at the same time as me. "Yeah, okay," she said. We said good night to everyone and then took off for the cottage. Nessie was running as fast as lightning like her daddy, but I had no problem keeping up. When we got to the cottage, Nessie went to her room and put her flannel pajama bottoms and t-shirt on. She brushed her hair back into a loose ponytail, and came back out to the living room where Edward and I were sitting. She leaned over and kissed each of us on the cheek and gave us each hugs. She did this every night before she went to bed. When she stood up from hugging Edward, she sighed. "Are they going to be okay daddy?" she asked.

Edward nodded slowly. "Yeah, honey, I think they're going to be alright."

She nodded too. "Were you guys like this when you first started out?"

I laughed a little. "Yeah, pretty much," I said.

She smiled. "I kind of feel like I'm getting to look in on the past, to how you guys were before you had me." She laughed again. "Night," she said. She yawned and stretched her arms. In the second her arms were above her head, I saw the most beautiful baby that Edward and I had created. A part of me, and him, and our love for each other right there in living proof in Nessie. She walked into her room, and I wrapped my arms around Edward's chest.

"They really are going to be okay, aren't they?" I sighed.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Yeah, I really think they are."

The next morning, Edward and I ran over to the house around six. We usually let Nessie sleep late on Saturdays, and she would come over when she woke up. I didn't see Connor when we walked in, but I assumed he was out hunting. Once again, being his logical self, he was thinking ahead to the day when he would be in a car with Julia for a long period of time. I felt jittery I was so excited for them. Edward and I were working today, the entire morning and afternoon shift. Nessie was going to go over to La Push and hang out with whoever happened to be around. She told me she might even go running with the wolves. I'll never forget that day a couple years ago when nineteen wolves ran past our house with little Nessie, who was only up to my arm at the time, among their ranks. Edward and I had been in the hammock in the backyard and she had just gone running by, laughing her head off as she caught up to Jacob and Leah.

We took off for the hospital with Carlisle around eight, and Nessie came through the back door just in time to say goodbye to us. Connor still hadn't come home, but I'm sure he'd be back to get his car soon enough. It was another slow day as an EMT. Edward and I made copies for an hour at the copy machine for the secretary. Edward wasn't really supposed to do much except ambulance calls as of right now, but because I was in training, I could go pretty much anywhere I wanted to work. I hated leaving Edward, but I wanted to see all the parts of the hospital. I jogged up to the third floor where Carlisle was for the day. He was qualified to work literally _everywhere_ in this hospital. Edward was planning on going back to school as soon as I finished, so he could get his doctor degree. Then he could work many more places instead of just in an ambulance.

I started searching the third floor for Carlisle. He was in the room of a little girl who had gotten dehydrated over the weekend. "Hey," he whispered as I walked in. The little girl was asleep with a tired looking mother by her side. I felt sorry for the poor woman.

"How is she?" I whispered back.

"Well, we've got her fluids up, but she's exhausted from being sick all night. We're providing nutrients through the IV, but when she wakes up I want to try some solid food, or a glass of water would help her a little too. Just gentle foods full of nutrients though. Like bananas, or anything natural really." He whispered all of this. I looked at the girl's chart. The little girl was much younger than I had thought. She wasn't even two yet. She was just old enough to be out of infant care, and a hospital this small didn't have a pediatric ward. Her name was Cami Newton. Newton? As in Mike Newton? I looked again at the mother. With a shock, I realized she was my old friend Jessica Stanley. She looked much older than the perky eighteen-year-old high school girl I remembered. She had to be twenty-two now…

"Jessica?" I said astonished.

She looked up. For a while she just stared at me, completely confused as to who I was. I watched the realization seep into her gaze. "Bella?" She said, just as astonished.

"Jessica Stanley. Well what have you been up to?" I looked at the little girl. I quickly observed that she had Mike's blonde hair, and Jessica's loose curls. This must be their daughter.

"Bella! I hardly recognized you? What have you been up to?" She repeated my question.

"Well, I was sick for a while and the disease I had changed a lot of my features, but other than that I've just really been enjoying being married to Edward." I told her. No need to mention I was now a vampire and we had conceived a half-vampire half-human baby who had been imprinted upon by my at the time seventeen-year-old best friend. "So what about you?"

"I'll let you two catch up," Carlisle said. "Come find me if she wakes up, Bella." He left us then so we could have some privacy.

As soon as he left Jessica flew into her story. Same old Jess. "Well, as you probably already figured out this is my daughter. Her name is Cami, and she's sixteen months old." She paused. "Her dad is Mike Newton." She smiled. "That's my last name now."

"I hadn't heard you two got married," I commented. "When was it?"

"Two years ago." She blushed a little. "Mike proposed the night… the night I was going to tell him I was pregnant. Right as I was about to tell him, he got down on one knee." She sighed and smiled. "Life happens you know?" She asked.

I nodded. How well I knew…

"Anyways, I married him when I was a month pregnant with Cami. We moved into an apartment for a while that was in the middle of Port Angeles. Mike was at the time finishing up his bachelor degree and working part time. I was going to college as well, but I decided to stop after I got my associates degree and got pregnant. I worked as a secretary for a while before I had to go on maternity leave. We weren't bringing in much, but it was enough to keep up on the bills, and put a little away for the baby. We became the biggest coupon clippers you've ever met. We literally saved pennies." She laughed a little. "Well, the day I went into labor was the day after Mike had finished his last semester for his bachelor degree. He took minimal classes, to save money of course. We both came out of the delivery great, but let me tell you Bella, it hurts more than you can possible imagine. Mike was great though. I was a little worried he was going to pass out... Anyway, Mike's working as a Junior High social studies teacher now in Port Angeles. We moved back to Forks as soon as we could afford a house here. I'm getting my bachelor's online right now, it's a great program." She sighed again. "But little Miss Cami here got so sick she was dehydrated. We've been here since early yesterday morning. Mike took off work yesterday, but I told him to go today. I haven't been home yet, but I don't mind." She smiled again. "So what have you been up too?" She asked again.

I caught her up on mine and Edward's schooling, and how Edward's parents had 'adopted' another child. Then I paused, and went ahead and told her about Nessie and how we had got her. The fake story of course.

"You were thrown a teenage girl who had just lost her parents? I can't imagine." Jessica said this sounding shocked.

"Well what else could we do?" I asked. "We weren't letting her go into a foster home. We were terrified Jess, we still are. We've only had her for a few months. We just got permission for adoption. She's started to call Edward dad, but we're giving her space. She talks to me, and that's all I need. She'll call me mom when she's ready. I hear it slip out of her mouth sometimes, but I pretend to ignore it. She started at the High School a few days ago. There were some complications getting her in with her transferring and such, but she likes it here well enough."

Jess nodded. "Does she miss her parents much?"

I shook my head and came up with a quick lie. "Well, that's the thing. Her parents died several years ago, when she was just a baby. Because Edward was involved in a closed adoption with his parents, we didn't even know about his brother until he turned eighteen. He was too young when his parents died to remember having an older brother."

"Oh," Jessica said as if in shock. "So are you guys considering having any birth children?"

I shook my head, and came up with another lie. "No. Actually it turns out that we aren't capable of having children together. We decided that if it wasn't with each other, it wasn't with anybody. Maybe someday we'll adopt again, but we have to get through this one first."

"Oh I'm so sorry Bella," she said quickly.

"It's okay; we think it was a result of me getting sick at the beginning of our marriage." It still scared me how fast I could come up with a lie that was so (hopefully) convincing. "So have you heard from Angela and Ben?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said happily. "They got married last fall. Angela called me a few weeks ago to tell me she's pregnant."

I gasped. "Angela's pregnant? Angela Weber? The quiet girl from High School? No way!"

She laughed quietly. "I guess we all really are growing up, huh?" She said.

I nodded. Oh if she only knew the half of it… There was a soft knock at the door. I looked over to see my guardian angel leaning on the door frame. "Edward," I said. "Look who it is."

He came into the room. Jessica smiled. "Jessica Stanley…" he said slowly.

She nodded. "Edward Cullen. I hear from your wife here that you start training to become a doctor in a few months." She smiled again. "Good for you."

"Thanks," he said.

"So what are you doing up here?" I asked him. "Slow day as an EMT? That's rare." I said sarcastically.

"Glad to see you too honey," he said sarcastically. "Actually, I'm on my break right now. I think I'm supposed to eat lunch at this time considering my next break today isn't until 3:30, but honestly, I'm not hungry. And you've been in the EMT waiting room before. We play cards, we play some more cards, we crack some lame jokes, and then we hope that someone has a job for us to do. Hopefully I can find some time to eat in that busy schedule."

I laughed. "This is Mike and Jessica's daughter, Cami."

"Oh, she's adorable," he said to Jessica.

"Thanks," Jessica said. Cami stirred, and her eyes fluttered. She looked scared, and very sick. She started to whimper. "It's okay baby, Mommy's here," Jessica said. She stroked the girl's hair back off of her face.

"I'll go get the dad," Edward said. He took to calling him the dad instead of the doc when he was around here. He got up and left the room. The girl stopped whimpering, but she was obviously very sick still. Carlisle came through the door with Edward a minute later.

"Well," Carlisle said taking one look at the girl and her monitors. "She's very weak, but I think we've over come most of the dehydration. Bella, could you please get her a glass of water?" I walked out of the room and came back with a tiny Dixie cup full of water. While I was gone, Carlisle had got the girl propped up on some pillows, so she was in a sitting position. I handed him the water, and he held it to her lips.

"Could you drink this please Cami?" He asked her sweetly. He was good with little kids when they were sick.

She looked at him wearily, but did as he asked her. She downed the whole cup. "If she keeps this down for an hour," Carlisle explained. "Then we're definitely going to give her some solid food. You can just push the nurse button. If everything goes well for the rest of today, she should be able to go home tomorrow."

Jessica sighed. "Thank-you," she said.

Carlisle laughed. "Hey, I'm the one getting paid," he joked. She laughed. Cami leaned back into her pillows and her eyes drooped shut.

"See you in a bit," Edward said. "My break is over. It was nice catching up with you Jessica, maybe I'll see you around town." He waved, and strode out of the room.

"Just push the button in an hour," Carlisle reminded, and then he was off too.

"Well, Jess," I said. "It was nice seeing you. Tell Mike and Angela and Ben I said hi, maybe I'll see Mike around here sometime."

"Nice seeing you Bella," she said. "It was nice talking to you. Glad to hear things are going well."

I nodded. "Look at us," I said. "Who'd have thought we'd be standing here like this four years after we graduated High School?"

She laughed. "Certainly not me."

"See ya Jess," I said.

"See ya," she said. As I was walking out I saw her look at Cami and smile. She leaned over and kissed her forehead. The scene melted my cold heart.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

The rest of the day passed by in a drag. I spent most of it wondering what Connor and Julia were doing. I was thinking back to the first day Edward and I spent together. If theirs was going anything like ours had gone, than it was already a big accomplishment. I couldn't wait to meet Julia. I was thinking about what Nessie had said the other night, about looking into the past. It would be interesting to see what Julia was like compared to me.

When five o' clock rolled around, I couldn't wait to get home. It only took a few minutes considering how fast Edward was driving, but it felt like forever. If I thought the day was long, the wait for Connor to get home was longer. Everyone was excited to see how it had gone. For two long hours I sat with Edward while he slowly wrote a new song on the piano. It was beautiful of course, but I was slightly impatient for Connor to come home. Finally, I heard his car on the drive. I looked at Edward, and he smiled. The day had gone well; Edward had seen it in Connor's thoughts. Connor strode through the door thirty seconds later.

His eyes were lit up, and he was smiling a little bit. "So," Edward said. "How'd it go?"

He smirked. "Oh as if you haven't been in my head for the past three minutes." He rolled his eyes.

"Okay," Emmett said. "Some of us are a little slower on the uptake here and we can't read minds so it would be really cool if you would tell us what the heck happened."

"We're dying here," Rosalie said.

"Well, we talked a _lot_." He said. "I didn't know that there were so many things to know about a person. We actually had to start taking turns. I would ask ten questions, then she would. It got a little … interesting." He made a face. "Girls know things," he said in a quiet, scared voice. "Things that no one should _ever_ know." He shuddered.

Edward laughed. I smiled at him. If I could choose only one sound to ever hear again, it would be Edward's laugh. "Anyway," Connor continued. "We drove all the way to California," He smiled. "We got off the highway and went for a walk. We walked deep into the woods, far off the short trail that I had planned to show her. And then…" He sighed a little. "There was a break in the trees… and the sun was shining… and… well… she saw me." He looked down. "She didn't freak out, but let's just say that we were in the sun for almost an hour." He laughed. "Yeah, she was a little sidetracked."

I cracked up then. "Well hey," I said. "Let's look at it this way; it took me four hours. She's already ahead."

He smiled. "I'm going over to her house tomorrow at eight. He dad works all day everyday from seven to five, but he leaves at six and doesn't get home until six. Julia described him as the most introverted person she's ever met."

"So," Jasper said. "I take that it was a good day?"

Connor smiled. "A great day." He then went up to his room. As he walked away I could hear him humming a song I had heard on the radio the other day. It was something new, but I liked it. They must have heard it while they were in the car today.

I leaned across the couch and gave Edward a hug. "I love you," I said.

"I love you too," He said. He planted his lips on the top of my hair.

As we ran home for the night, I couldn't help but wonder what tomorrow would bring. With a new day, anything could happen. Especially when you were in love with a vampire.

The next day, Edward and I were lying on our bed snuggling before Nessie woke up. Just like any kid, she freaked out when her parents got too romantic. At seven thirty we got up to go wake up our beautiful daughter. Her big brown eyes still went into a smile in the morning when she saw us. I loved her more than she knew.

We didn't have work today, so we went to hunt for a while. Nessie came with, but she liked to be left alone while hunting. It was her time to think Edward told me. He tried to stay out of her head as much as possible, but sometimes her thoughts would jump out at him.

When we got home, Connor was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen. It was only eleven o'clock; he would have only been at Julia's for three hours. "Hey," I said. "Why aren't you at Julia's?"

He looked a little dazed. "Um…" he said. His voice was quieter than usual.

I looked at Edward. He looked a little shocked, but he was smiling. I took this as a good sign.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, "Connor said. I could tell everyone in the living room was listening by the way they had all gotten quiet. "I kissed her."

I felt my mouth drop open. Edward started laughing again. I shrieked. "YOU DID WHAT?" I screamed.

He smiled. "Kissed her," he said calmly.

"And she's okay?"I yelled.

He looked at me with a slightly offended expression. "No, I killed her," he said sarcastically.

"Oh that's not what I meant," I said quickly. "I meant did you close her jaw and screw her head back on before you left?"

He laughed. "Actually, it was pretty hard so I ran away for about thirty seconds. When I came back she was sitting on the floor laughing hysterically. When I asked her what was funny, she said, 'I don't know, the irony of it all. A vampire kissing a human and the human being the one who loses control. Sorry about that.' I started laughing then, and we pretty much laughed for the next hour or so."

"Connor," Edward said. "You have no idea how big of obstacle you just overcame. You can take everything else in baby steps now."

I laughed. "Poor girl. Doesn't have a clue how small those baby steps actually are."

"So why'd you leave?" Edward asked.

"I was getting to that. After we finally stopped laughing too hard to talk, I came up with an idea I want to run by you guys." He paused for a second. "If she wants to, would it be alright if I brought her over here today?"

"Yep," Edward and I said together.

He turned to the living room where everyone else was sitting. "Of course, if she wants to," Esme said.

"It's alright with me," Carlisle said.

"Sure," Alice said cheerfully.

"Okay, but if she trips I'm going to laugh at her," Emmett said. Connor gave him a funny look, but moved on.

"I don't mind," Rosalie said.

"Anybody that has the guts to walk knowingly into a house full of vampires is my kind of person, so yeah." Jasper said.

"Okay," Nessie said with a perk in her voice. "I know it doesn't really matter, but its okay with me if she wants to come over here."

Connor laughed. "Well, I appreciate that it's okay with you, but I was going to do it anyways."

Nessie smiled her father's smirk, and shrugged her shoulders. "Ah, the status of the four-year-old hybrid." She yawned. "Well, considering that in the next four seconds Alice is either going to ask me to leave or tell me to sit in the corner so she can see, I'm going to save her the breath and do it myself. Somebody come and get me when she's done being all premonition-y."

I smiled. I loved the little words that she made up. "Thank-you Nessie," Alice said politely.

Connor went to go see if Julia wanted to come over, and Alice immediately zoned out into the ever changing future. About three minutes later, she said excitedly, "She'll want to come."

Nobody argued with Alice. She jumped off the couch and ran to where Edward and I were still standing in the kitchen. "C'mon Bella," she said. "This is where you get to be useful, what did we do wrong last time?"

"Uh…" I dug through my memory to that very first day at the Cullen house. What would have made me feel better about it? "Well," I said. "It would probably be better if we didn't all bombard her at once."

"Hold on," Edward said. He opened the back door and stuck his head out. "C'mon Ness!" He yelled. If she was paying attention, she would have heard him.

"Okay, so no bombarding. What else?" Alice said.

"Don't tell her she smells good," I looked right at Alice and narrowed my eyes.

"Whoops," she said.

"Yeah that was a little uncomfortable. Anyway, um, just try to act to her like you would to any one of us. Just…. gentler."

Emmett raised his hand like he was in class. I looked at him. "What if she's really emotional and gets all creeped out? Cause frankly, teenage girls terrify me when they do that." He said this all very quickly.

I sighed. "One, she's sixteen, not thirteen or fourteen. Trust me, there's a difference."

Rosalie and Esme laughed. "A big difference," Esme said.

"Two," I continued. "The likeliness of that happening is zero to none. Three, if for some odd reason that does happen, you leave the room and go find something to do."

"Got it," he said.

"Other than that," I said. "We should be good." Nessie had come in through the back door during my talk with Emmett. I was sure she had heard all of the important parts though.

An hour later, we heard Connor's car on the drive. I was getting really excited, but I was trying to play it cool. I could still remember how nervous I was the first time I was here. I heard the car door slam, and their feet on the porch. They were silent.

Connor opened the door slowly. "This is my house," he said to her.

"It's beautiful," I heard her murmur in that same beautiful voice I could remember from the hospital.

"And this is my family," he said as they walked through the door. Her green eyes looked around at us all slowly. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she seemed calm.

Carlisle and Esme were standing nearest to the door, by the big front window. "It's nice to see you again Julia," Carlisle said. "Under much better conditions. Call me Carlisle." He held out his hand.

"Nice to see you again, Carlisle." She said Carlisle a little awkwardly, but he didn't seem to notice. She shook his hand.

Esme went next. She held out her hand too. "We haven't met, but my name is Esme. I've heard much about you Julia," she said.

Julia shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you Esme," she said. She was very good at introductions.

Alice stood up from the couch where she and Rosalie had been sitting. Rosalie did the same, but followed slowly. "I'm Alice," Alice said, holding out her hand to Julia. "It's nice to meet you."

Julia shook her hand as well. "Nice to meet you too Alice," she smiled at her.

"I'm Rosalie," Rose said immediately following Alice. "I'm happy to finally meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Julia said.

They walked over to where Jasper and Emmett were sitting. "I'm Jasper," Jasper said politely. They shook hands.

"I'm Emmett," Emmett said. "The one who is going to tease you like crazy, but you'll learn to love me."

She laughed. "Um… thanks?" She said.

Edward and I were sitting on the piano bench, and Nessie was curled up in the window seat across the room from the front door. She hopped up from where she was sitting and walked over to where Julia and Connor were standing by the computer. "Hey Julia," Nessie said. "We haven't officially met but I've seen you around. I'm Nessie." She held her hand out and Julia shook it. I think she noticed the warmth, but she didn't look too aghast.

Connor walked her over to where Edward and I were still sitting. Edward stood up immediately. "I'm Edward," he said. "Nice to see you again." He smiled that heart-stopping smile at her.

"You too, is this your piano?" She asked curiously.

"It is, do you play?" He asked.

"Not the piano, but I do play acoustic guitar," she said shyly.

"That's wonderful, do you… sing?" He asked showing polite interest.

"Well," she said. She sounded a little embarrassed. "Yes, but there's a good chance you will never, ever hear it."

He laughed. "Why? A pretty voice like yours has to be able to sing."

She laughed. "Thanks."

I stood up then, and she seemed to know who I was before I even said anything. "I'm Bella," I said. "It's nice to meet you." She looked right into my eyes.

"It's nice to meet you too Bella, I've heard much about you." She said this quietly.

"Hopefully good things," I said. I shot Connor a look.

She laughed. "Oh come here," I said. I opened my arms for a hug and she walked into them freely. I gently hugged her for a moment, then we parted.

"I'm going to take Julia on a tour of the rest of the house," Connor announced.

"Oh," I said. "Well, see you soon Julia."

"Definitely," she agreed. Connor took her hand and they walked up the large staircase. I could hear him pointing out rooms as they went. I heard them stop at Connor's room, and I decided to stop listening. They needed their privacy.

I turned to Edward. "It's cool she plays guitar," I said.

"Very cool," he agreed. "I have an idea for a new song." He walked over to the piano and sat down on the bench. I sat down beside him and leaned my head on his shoulder. He started to play a quiet little melody, and soon began to twist a harmony into it. The song was very calm and mellow, and at points happy. But at some points he made the melody sound sad, or difficult. It was a beautiful song, and definitely one of my favorites of his. He finished the last notes gently, then looked over and smiled at me. I smiled back.

"It's beautiful," I said.

"It's alright, but nothing compared to you," he said.

I just kept on smiling. It had gotten a little quieter, and I could feel everyone watching us, drawn to the sound of Edward's music. I heard Nessie gag a little. "I feel disturbed," she said. She stood up and walked over to the back door. "Let me know when you two are going to be more appropriate." She walked out the door and into the rain. Edward and I started to snicker. I saw her climb up the biggest tree in the forest, which was just a little behind the backyard. She went up there a lot, and I was pretty sure she had a few things up there. A few of her favorite books (but I don't know how she kept them dry), her old mp3 player that Edward had bought her on her first Christmas, and possibly a few hair ties. I wasn't sure these things were up there, but I know that she had been going up there for a long time, and those used to be some of her favorite things. Some of them still were.

"Ooo," said Alice. "There's a storm coming tonight. Let's play ball." She sounded hopeful.

"Definitely," Emmett agreed immediately.

"I'm game," said Jasper.

"Sounds like fun," Rosalie said.

"Sure," said Esme.

"I'm in the mood for some bat slapping," Carlisle announced.

"Why not?" Edward agreed.

"Okay," I said slowly. "I'll play but I apologize in advance to those on my team." Everyone laughed.

"I'll go see if Connor and Julia want to come," Jasper said.

"They will," Alice insisted.

Jasper rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they will, but it's polite to ask." He climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door. I heard Connor and Julia agree to come, but I could tell Julia was curious as to why we needed a storm to play baseball.

I looked at Edward. "What about Nessie?" I asked quietly.

He sighed. "I don't know. I really don't feel comfortable letting her play with us yet, but I know that she wants to try. I've been pitching to her, and she can hit one pretty far away, but I'm worried about my little girl getting hurt."

He said the last part with a slightly apologetic smile on his face. "Let's let her try," I suggested.

He nodded his head slowly. "I'll go tell her." He got up from his seat beside me and I watched him walk out the back door into the rain. He stood at the bottom of the tree, and I heard him call her name. It still sounded like singing to me. He knew better than to go up the tree and talk to her. That was her unstated personal space that no one dared enter. I saw her face light up as he asked her if she wanted to play with us tonight. She threw her arms around him and thanked him. He held her tight and lifted her feet off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his hips like you would carry a baby. "Where'd my little baby girl go?" He asked her calmly.

She smiled. "She's still right here daddy," she laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm just a little bigger." He cradled her to him. The sight of them brought me back to an earlier time. All those late nights where he would stay for hours in her little bedroom rocking her back to sleep after she woke up crying with nightmares. He would sing to her, and watch to make sure her dreams were sweet. He held her the same way now that he had all those nights ago, and the sight of them brought unshedable tears to my eyes. Edward had always loved her. Even before she was born. I could pin point the day it had happened. It was the day that he had first heard her thoughts, and he'd told me she liked the sound of my voice. I think the exact minute it had happened was when he had told me she like the sound of his voice too. From that moment on, our little girl had had him wrapped around her little finger. There was an unbreakable bond between the two of them now.

About an hour and a half later, we were all dressed to play baseball, and Connor had taken Julia home to meet her father about thirty minutes ago. We all ran to the baseball clearing together. Nessie held her own and was just a bit behind Esme when we arrived. Edward was first of course, followed by Emmett and Jasper, who were stronger than the rest of us. I sprinted in next with Carlisle at my heels. Rosalie wasn't far behind us, and Alice's little legs carried her to us soon after. Esme had always been slowest, but she didn't seem to mind. Nessie came bursting through the trees just a second after her. She was smiling from ear to ear. She loved running.

Carlisle began to mark out the bases, and Emmett and Jasper pulled out the four bats that we usually used. Alice and Esme used a smaller one, and Rose and I used a medium sized one. Edward, Carlisle, and Connor used one that was a little bigger than ours, and Emmett and Jasper used one that was even bigger than that. Edward grabbed the smallest one.

"Here Ness swing this," he instructed. He handed her the bat and she executed a perfect swing. "Feel good?" He asked her.

She nodded. Just then, I heard Connor and Julia coming. It sounded to me like Connor was carrying Julia on his back. They we both laughing hysterically. They burst through the trees about a minute later. Connor set Julia down but she fell to the ground. "Whoa!" She said as she hit the ground. Then she started to laugh. Connor joined in.

"Sorry," he said as soon as he'd calmed down enough to talk.

"It's okay," she said. "You just stopped so suddenly and then put me down. Talk about a head rush!"

They both started to laugh hysterically again. I saw something in Connor's eyes. He looked at her the same way Edward looked at me. They were _so_ in over their heads. That's what love was about though… Doing things you wouldn't normally do, and not caring. Love didn't have any fear of anything, it was fearless. They were going to go far…

"Let's play ball," Rosalie said enthusiastically. Everyone sprinted off in the direction of the playing field. Everyone except me. I walked over to Julia who was walking her way to the field. I joined her and kept her pace.

"So," I said.

"So," she said. I felt comfortable with Julia. We shared a bond that no one else in the whole world could ever understand. We both knew this, and somehow that made talking to her feel very natural; like I had known her my whole life.

"I heard he kissed you," I blurted out.

She laughed. "Yeah…"

"And?" I prodded.

She sighed. "It was… amazing. I don't know. It's hard to explain."

"I think I can imagine," I told her.

She laughed again. "I'm sure you can."

We were silent for a minute, and she seemed to be debating over something. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked tentatively.

I nodded. "Anything," I promised.

She sighed. "How did you do it?" She asked. "How did you keep up with the supernatural, when you weren't? How did you not wonder, and worry about what the future was going to hold? How did you make it work?"

I thought about it for a minute. It wasn't something that I had ever really thought about. It was more like something that I had just done whenever it was necessary. "I don't really know," I admitted. "It wasn't something I ever really tried to do. My advice is; live in the moment, and don't worry about the future. It will fall into place when it's supposed to. Don't worry about tomorrow, because it could be gone after today."

She nodded. "So, pretty much let whatever needs to happen, happen?"

I nodded. "That's exactly it."

We were nearing the ball field now and my team consisted of Carlisle, Alice, Emmett, Connor, and me of course. My team was playing the field first and Edward was up to bat. They put me in the infield where all I had to do was stop any ball that I could and tag the person out when they threw it to me. I took up a position that was just directly behind Alice, who was pitching. Connor played catcher, and Carlisle went deep to my left and Emmett went deep to my right. We covered more ground this way. Alice waited only a second for the first big clap of thunder, and then hurled it at Edward. He hit it, of course, he was Edward. It sailed deep into left field where Carlisle was already after it. He grabbed it on a bounce, and threw it as hard as he could at me. Edward was flying around the bases and I saw him rounding third as I caught the ball. I threw it as fast as I could at Connor and he caught it just a millisecond too late. He slid into home and was undoubtedly safe.

"Aww," Emmett groaned. I sighed. You had to be fast to beat Edward… Rosalie was up to bat next. She wailed it out deep into right field, but Emmett threw it into me and we got her out at third base when she took a chance. Nessie went next. She came up to the plate, and took her left handed stance. Edward and I were both right handed, so we had no idea why she was a lefty. She went up to the plate, and I could see Edward watching her carefully. Alice couldn't see a thing now that she was focusing on Nessie and you could tell she was uncomfortable with it. She brought her arm back and wailed it at Nessie.

I could see what was going to happen, and I couldn't stop it. Alice had veered too far to the left with her pitch, and it was going straight at Nessie's leg. In one instant, I saw Nessie realize the ball was going to hit her, and I watched Edward's face drop. She tried to jump out of the way, but it was moving too fast. The ball hit her right leg just below her knee, and I started to run. I heard her gasp and I watched her hit the ground. Edward got there just a second before I did and everyone else was just behind us. Nessie had her arms covering her whole face, with her elbows pointing to her feet. The sight of her lying on the ground didn't frighten me. The way her leg was turning purple didn't frighten me. It was the way that her body shook with silent tears that scared me to death. My baby was_ crying_. My baby, our baby, _never _cried.

"Sh, sh, Nessie it's okay," I heard Edward trying to comfort her. He was stroking the top of her head and had his other hand under her shoulder.

"You're okay," I assured her, even though I really wasn't sure myself. I could see Carlisle looking curiously at her rapidly bruising leg.

"Nessie, I'm so sorry," I heard Alice saying. I could tell she felt awful about what happened. Nessie's tears were slowly stopping, and she took one of her arms off her face and let it fall to her side. She opened her palm and I put my hand inside of it. She clung to it.

"Ow," she said in a quiet, hoarse voice.

"Are you okay?" Emmett asked.

I heard the crash as Rosalie slapped his arm. I could see Nessie scrunch up her eyebrows. "Never better," she said sarcastically.

I rubbed her arm. I could see Julia standing next to Connor looking just as concerned as the rest of us. I saw Carlisle reach out and move her leg slightly. Nessie let her other arm drop and she gasped again. Her eyes got really wide.

"Sorry," Carlisle said. He sighed. "Well, Miss Nessie," he said. "The bone isn't crushed, but the muscle is pretty beat up. The ball hit in just the right spot so as not to break any of the bones. The reason it hurt so badly was because it hit right in between the muscles."

Edward had been watching Carlisle carefully the whole time. "Huh," said Nessie. "Note to self; move out of the way if there is anything flying at you faster than the speed of sound." She swallowed. "Oh and by the way, I'm definitely taking the base."

Edward chuckled. "Yeah, you're definitely my daughter." I laughed along with everybody else.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Nessie sat up slowly and propped herself on her elbows. All of the sudden, I heard something. Something very fast. Fast enough to be vampire feet. I looked at Edward, and he had heard it too. I could now distinguish two sets of fast moving feet. Alice jumped a little, and ran a few feet away. She put her head in her hands, and I knew she was trying to see who it was.

Everyone jumped to their feet, and I saw Connor push Julia behind his back. Nessie got up on one foot and began to hobble over behind the line we were forming. Edward stood in front of me and Emmett stood on his right side. Jasper stood in between Rosalie and I, and Esme stood back with Nessie. Julia clearly had no idea what was going on, but she let Esme pull her behind her. Connor stood on my other side, and Alice jumped in front of him. Carlisle was in front of all of us. "It's Peter and Charlotte," she told us. I saw Jasper visibly relax at the sound of his old friends names. I could hear them getting closer and they were laughing. Nessie, still on one foot, pushed Julia behind her. Even Nessie knew to protect the weakest link.

Peter and Charlotte burst through the trees and sprinted over to where we were standing. They stopped in front of us, and in one second, I saw the look of confusion spread over both of their pale faces at the sight of our protective stance. "Peter, Charlotte," Jasper said. "It's good to see you my old friends."

He didn't move from his stance by me. Peter looked at him curiously. "It's good to see you too, Jasper." He was clearly confused. Charlotte took a step toward Peter in her confusion. I saw Peter's sharp eyes scan over us quickly. He zeroed in on Julia. "Who are you?" he asked her slowly. I heard Charlotte's quiet gasp as she recognized Julia's very _human_ smell.

Julia looked a little frightened, but she looked him right in the eye when she said, "Julia Bird."

Peter took a small step forward, and I heard Julia automatically take a small step back. What happened next I didn't see. I heard a small thump and when I turned around Julia was sitting on the ground. She looked like she had tripped. She was looking at her palms. In that instant, I could feel the trouble before it began. I smelt the warm, appealing blood coming from the scrapes in her hands. I heard a hiss come from in front of me, and I turned to see Charlotte lunge at Julia with her teeth barred. I heard the boom as Edward rammed into her with all his strength. Emmett grabbed Charlotte from behind as Edward continued to hold her back. I hissed and jumped in front of Peter as he reacted to the blood. His body crashed into mine and I could see the wild thirst in his eyes. Peter was much stronger than me, and a much more experienced fighter. To my horror I watched as he got away from me. I was knocked to the ground. Peter lunged at Julia. I saw Connor knock Julia out of the way, and watched her fall to the ground. I saw Jasper tackle Peter from behind and watched as he pinned Peter to the ground. With the help of Rosalie and Alice, he started dragging Peter away.

I could see Emmett and Edward pushing and pulling at Charlotte as she kept fighting them. I saw Julia lying crumpled on the ground. Nessie was slowly dragging her away from here. She limped, and I could see the fear in her eyes. I watched as Carlisle and Esme ran over to where Julia was and Carlisle scooped Julia into his arms and ran off. Esme helped Nessie sit down again and began to soothe her. My whole body hurt from the impact with Peter, but I stood up and ran over to my daughter. Connor got up at the same time I did and sprinted after Carlisle. Edward came running out of the woods first, followed by all the others. "Where are they?" Esme asked.

"They ran," Edward said plainly. He stopped in front of us.

"Are you okay?" He asked both of us.

Nessie nodded, but I knew she wasn't opening her mouth because he would hear the pain in her voice. "Where's Julia?" Alice asked.

"Carlisle took her that way," I pointed. "She was unconscious."

"We should probably go see if he needs help," Edward suggested. I nodded my head and he pulled me to my feet. "Esme, can you help Nessie get home?"

Esme nodded. "Of course dear," she said.

Edward bent down and kissed Nessie's head. "You're tough kid," he said. And then we were off. I followed Edward and he followed the smell of Julia's blood. We came upon them just a few seconds later. Carlisle was searching Julia's body for any damage, and Connor had her head in his lap. She was still out cold, but I had worked at the hospital long enough to know that Julia wasn't in any immediate danger.

"Need any help?" Edward asked quietly.

Carlisle looked up. "Yeah, but not until we get back to the house. We need to get her indoors. Her body temperature is slowly falling, and it's cold out here. She needs to be warm before we even have a prayer of her waking up." I could smell the blood on Julia's hands, but I could tell she wasn't bleeding anymore. Her hands would be fine.

"Did she hit her head?" I asked Carlisle.

He nodded. "Yes, but I don't think there was any real damage done. C'mon," he said. "It's time to move her." Connor scooped her up into his arms. He wasn't looking at me, but I knew he was completely appalled at what had happened. "Bella, go tell the others to come home," Carlisle instructed me. I ran back and did as he told me to, and didn't bother to wait for them. I took off running toward the house as fast as I could. I ran in through the back door. Julia was lying on the couch covered in a blanket, and she had something on her head. Probably a heat compress. I could tell she was still unconscious, but she would come around. Carlisle was looking at her ankle that she had twisted in the fire. It was healing at a good rate. I walked over to where Edward was standing by the window. Connor was sitting in the recliner with his face in his hands.

We were all silent. Julia sighed in her sleep, and shifted a little. Connor looked up, and rested his face in his fists. "It's my fault," he said, breaking the silence.

I sighed. "I'm sorry you see it that way," I said. "But I promise you, she won't agree."

He looked at me. "Bella," he said a little more loudly. "How can you say that? How can you think that the reason she's sitting here like this isn't my fault? It's my fault Julia was even there in the first place. It's my fault that she knows what I am, it's my fault." He repeated.

I shook my head. "You're right," I said. "Everything is your fault. The reason she's hurt is your fault. All of it's your fault." He looked kind of surprised at what I was saying, but I kept going. "But," I said. "It's not your fault that she came tonight. It's not your fault she got in that car with you. It's not your fault that every day she knows you is another day that she chooses to keep your secret. And it is most definitely not your fault that she fell in love with you." I took a deep breath. "Connor, if I've learned one thing in my twenty-two years it's this; people have choices, and they are responsible for choosing them." I closed my eyes and thought for a second. "She chose you Connor, don't you see? She doesn't care what you are or what kind of danger you put her in, as long as she can have you."

Everyone was staring at me now. The others came in quietly through the back door, but I knew they had probably heard most of my little speech. Edward put his arm around me, and I leaned into him a little. Nessie was leaning on Esme, and limping heavily, but she made it to one of the kitchen chairs. I heard Esme getting her some ice, but everyone was quiet.

Julia gasped just then, and her eyes flew open. She looked around at us, and I could see the panic when she didn't see Connor at first. She turned her head toward him and sat up a little. I saw her relax when she saw he was okay. "What happened?" she asked him quietly. He seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Um," he said. "When I knocked into you, you hit your head pretty hard on the ground. You were unconscious, but you're okay." She laid her head back onto the couch.

"Are… you okay?" She asked tentatively.

He snorted. "You get attacked by two vampires and you ask if I'm okay?"

She smirked a little. "Sorry, I'm bad at being the victim."

His smile drooped a little. "I'm sorry too."

She looked genuinely confused. "For what?"

He sighed and looked at me. I smirked at him. I said no words, but I think he knew I was thinking 'I told you so'.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess I'm sorry for what I am. Sorry I can't give you more than this. More than a stupid vampire who will just keep putting you in danger." He looked away from her. I grabbed Edward's hand from behind my back and squeezed it. He held on tight.

She was silent for only a minute. She sat up and turned around to face him. "Look at me," she said in a very stern voice.

He slowly turned his eyes toward her. Everyone was very still in the other room. "Now listen," she said. "I really don't want to hear what just came out of your mouth ever again. If you haven't figured it out already, I could care less if you were a vampire. Actually, if you had three heads and breathed fire, I still wouldn't care. Connor, I love you. I don't love the vampire, I love you."

He was silent. "Please," she said. "Don't you see? I would give it all for you Connor. Everything I have, I don't care, you can have it. It's already yours. I want forever with you Connor, and I'm willing to pay the price for that. Whatever the price is."

Connor's head snapped up. "Julia," he said quietly. "I won't do that to you. I'm not worth that much. Please, Julia, I'm not worth loving that much."

She hung her head. "Connor, I wish you could understand, but you can't right now," she whispered. I could see the tears that she didn't want him to see.

"I understand," I muttered. I could feel the unshedable tears in my eyes once more. Edward squeezed my hand tighter. I stepped forward and shook my head to clear away the dry tears. "Julia," I said. "I understand. I remember. And you're right, he's not going to understand now, and he probably never fully will. Nobody will ever know what it's like until they go through it, and I have. I know you can't see any future that you want now, but I don't have to be Alice to know how things are going to work out." I sighed. "Julia you have to really want it, really, really want it before he's even going to consider what you want. Even then, he might not understand." I looked at Edward. He was watching me carefully. "I've known Edward for a long time, and he knows every single thing about me. He knows all of my secrets, and sometimes knows me better than I know myself. Without knowing it, Edward has slowly begun to understand. Like I said before, he probably never fully will, but he's close." Everyone was looking at me, and I wasn't exactly comfortable with it. "Connor will get close too, and I promise, you'll know when it happens. You'll know when you're ready for forever, and he'll know too. No matter how much he refuses to admit it."

I turned to look at Edward, he was smiling a little. "So…" Julia said slowly. "You're saying that I'm… going to have to want it, and work for it?"

I smiled. "You have no idea how hard that work is actually going to be."

She smirked. "Good thing I'm stubborn."

Edward snorted, but didn't say anything. I walked into the kitchen to check on Nessie. When I came in everybody was staring at me. I looked around and Edward came up behind me. "Wow," he said. "That was very insightful."

I smiled. "I didn't know I had it in me." He laughed.

"They're really going to be okay aren't they?" He said very quietly into my ear. I nodded at him. He put his lips on mine. I felt myself falling into his power, getting deeper into the kiss. I wasn't allowed to go too far though. I heard a groan and I heard Nessie's head hit the table.

I broke away from the kiss smiling. I heard Edward chuckle. "I think I'm going to be sick," Nessie moaned.

I walked over to the table and sat down next to her. She had ice on her leg. "How's your leg?" I asked her.

She sat up. "Better than my stomach, I wasn't kidding that was seriously disgusting." She gave me one of her teenage looks. I ignored her.

"C'mon Ness, let's go home," I said. I could hear Connor helping Julia up in the next room. They were going home too.

"Daddy?" She said.

"Yeah babe?" He turned to look at her.

"Will you carry me home like you used to when I was a little girl?"

I saw his eyes melt into hers. "Of course," he said. He bent down to scoop her into his arms. We sprinted out the back door and into the light drizzle. They really were going to be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Epilogue: The run**

"I'm ready," Julia said. She was wearing a bright turquoise zip-up hoodie and black shorts. She had her long hair pulled back into a ponytail, and her ankle brace was on peeking out just above her running shoes. She was feeling confident enough to go running on her ankle again, to overcome the obstacle. She missed running, and Connor and she were going to run into town and come back. Who cared if it was pouring down rain? Connor was in a black pullover hoodie, and gray basketball shorts. His sneakers were laced up, and they were ready to go.

"Alright let's go," Connor said. They walked out the door and immediately began to jog, she set the pace, but he didn't seem to mind. Whatever she needed. Edward and I were sitting in the living room watching them leave. It had been a week since Peter and Charlotte had attacked Julia. Edward told me that Connor was still pretty upset with himself, but he was handling it. Yesterday Julia had played her guitar for us. She wouldn't sing the song that went along with it, but the guitar was beautiful. I'm sure we would hear her sing in time.

"Look at them go," Edward said. He was right. Julia was really fast. At the pace she was going they would be back before we knew it. She must run a lot. I watched them disappear around the curve in the road. I could hear them laughing at the absurdity of running through blinding rain. That was Forks for you.

I cuddled up next to Edward and listened to the rain hit the roof. Nessie was at Jacob's, doing who knows what. Edward wrapped his strong, protective arms around me and laid his face into my hair. He kissed the top of my head and ran his hand up and down my arm. I still got chills when he touched me. I turned around and kissed his lips. He flipped my body around and we stretched out on the couch without breaking the kiss. He rubbed the back of my neck, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I was so caught up in the kiss I didn't even hear when somebody was coming down the stairs.

"Oh sorry!" Emmett said loudly. We looked up in time to see him put his hands out in front of his face and turn around. We held our laughs in as we watched him run up the stairs. "Ew," we heard him say to nobody in particular.

"Emmett, did you walk in on a romantic moment again?" I heard Alice say.

"Uh-huh," Emmett said.

"Babe, you gotta stop doing that," Rosalie said.

"Hey, it's not my fault these things happen to me!" Emmett said defensively.

"That's the thing man it only happens to you," Jasper said.

I sighed. Some things would never change. Then again, some things would. Just like Julia's run today, we would all have obstacles to overcome. I didn't see the future, but I knew that much was true. I also knew that no matter what happened, Edward would stand by me. As Connor and Julia struggled through the thick and thin of their relationship, we would be there. Together.


	6. Chapter 6

Book Two: Waiting Game

**CHAPTER SIX**

I stretched out on mine and Edward's bed and curled up next to him. We had a full six hours before we had to wake Nessie up for school. She liked being a sophomore almost as much as Connor and Julia liked being juniors. Today Edward and I were going over to La Push to do some tutoring with the wolves. The younger guys, Lucas, Kyle, Nathan, and Wyatt, were falling behind in their junior and senior years again. We were also going over to help the two newest wolves. Their names were Lauren and Kaylie. They were the same age as Wyatt, but they had phased for the first time just this year. They were twins who were about to turn seventeen. The real kicker though was all the imprinting that went on last summer. Collin and Brady had imprinted on these girls at the exact same time they had imprinted on them. There were four imprints in the same second. The girls had chosen to join Sam's pack, after some serious consideration. They wanted to be near Brooke and Leah, but they needed to be near Collin and Brady. They were really shy, and they confused everyone but Collin and Brady when they switched places one day.

Sam and Emily had had their second child back in November. Just like with their first births, they had had their son, Brandon Michael, at the same time Leah and Joel had had their daughter, Alexis Jane. Nick and Jenny, the first kids in those families, were both adjusting great to having little babies in the house. Jared and Kim and Paul and Rachel had had their first babies in February. Paul and Rachel had had a little girl; Kristen Skye. Jared and Kim had had a little boy; David Tyler. It's freaky how these things happen together. I got to help deliver all these babies, since I am now a fully fledged nurse. The births were at home, but it was still a good experience. Paul and Jared handled the whole birthing experience well.

"I love you," I said to Edward as he stroked the back of my head.

"As I love you," he murmured.

Edward was back in medical school getting his doctor degree now. He was flying ahead of all the others in his classes and would be a doctor before we knew it. Edward was only going to work as a PA to begin with, and he was going to do mostly work in the ICU. I was working as an emergency room nurse right now. Edward was actually starting some on the job training pretty soon. He only had a few more lessons before he was qualified to do that. He would have to train on the job for a total of seventy-five hours before he would qualify to graduate. Our classes were in Seattle, and Edward went up there twice a week. Sometimes I would go up there with him so I could keep him company. The final classes at med school were short, only about an hour or two long.

"We made it didn't we?" I stated.

"Yeah," he said. Then he laughed a little. "It was a hard road coming, but look back six years ago. Who'd have thought this is where we would have ended up?"

I laughed, then sighed. "They're going to make it too. I hope." He knew I was talking about Connor and Julia of course.

Edward sighed as well. "They'll make it, but I don't know what's going to happen before then. They're in love with each other though, and love is always enough."

I reached up and kissed him deeply. He kissed back even more passionately. Our days of being careful were over and through; while Connor and Julia's were just beginning. The night flew by with Edward. We talked and laughed and loved each other. It was nights like this that reminded me just how much I would give up for Edward. I gave him everything, and felt like I had got back much more than that. That was true love. Not the kind you read about in sappy romance novels.

Around six am, we decided to get up and start the day. We got dressed in our closet, and I ran a brush through my hair. I had hair down to my waist, so I pulled it up.

"Hey there pretty lady," I heard Edward say. He woke Nessie up the same way every morning. With a kiss on the head, and then that phrase. I went out into the living room, and sat down on the couch. I knew Kaylie, Wyatt, and Kyle were all struggling in math and science. Lucas, Nathan, and Lauren were all struggling in their English classes. Today was a school day, but they wouldn't be going until later this week. Kaylie and Lauren's mom was the principal of the Quileute School. Because she was a Quileute herself, she knew about the pack and such. She was what Edward and I liked to call a pack mom. As soon as she had found out about why all the boys were missing school so much, she had immediately apologized to all of them. I think she felt bad about being so harsh on them when they kept missing. Since most of the guys had already made it out of there alive by the time she found out about the pack, there was nothing she could really do for them. But because the six that were still in school had to miss classes, she had stepped up and gotten the lesson plans from their teachers. Because the reservation wasn't very large, there was only one class per grade. So Wyatt, Kaylie and Lauren had been going to school together since pre-school. Just like Lucas, Nathan, and Kyle.

Since Edward and I had been tutoring the guys for almost four years before Kaylie and Lauren even joined the pack, it was still natural for us to step in when they got behind. Kaylie and Lauren's mom had given us the lesson plans for the week, and we would get through most of them today and tomorrow. I had to be at the hospital for the night shift tonight at seven, but we would work right up until then. Edward might even continue after that. We tried to get them as far ahead as possible so when they went back to school it would be easier for them to keep up with all the work even if they had to miss a day or two. Edward and I were thinking about starting to do a little bit of tutoring weekly on Saturdays. We hadn't told anyone yet, but we thought this was a pretty good idea considering neither of us had work or school on that day.

An hour later, we were standing in Kaylie and Lauren's kitchen. I took Lucas, Nathan, and Lauren into the living room to get started on a paper they had to write in English. The kids weren't stupid; they had just had to miss a lot of school. We got the paper done within an hour, and we went on to a packet they had to do. By lunch time we were done with their English work for a little more than half of the week, and we were finished with English by one o'clock. We went onto history, which was their easiest class. They had to do some reading, and do a worksheet, and then write down a few definitions. By the time I had to run home and get ready for work, we had gotten through two of their five classes for the week. Edward was going to get them all through their Spanish work before he went home for tonight, and we would switch groups tomorrow. The thing about High School, once you got into your junior and senior years, you did pretty much the same thing, especially when you had the same teachers.

I got to the hospital at seven, and caught up on my paperwork. A little boy who I didn't know by name was brought into the ER around midnight. He had fallen out of bed and smacked his head on his bed table. He was very, very young. I would say three at the most. He needed stitches on his head, and I held my breath while Carlisle sewed. We gave him an MRI and I held his hand during that. Parents aren't allowed in the room. He didn't cry, but I could feel his little hand shaking as he was moved into the machine. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. There weren't many people who worked on the night shift; usually just an EMT or two, the secretary, a couple of nurses, and a doctor. We played cards and listened to the radio for a while around one am. Carlisle was great at letting us do what we wanted as long as the work got done.

I got home around five am, and went straight to the cottage. Edward was up studying a little for a test he had today when I came in. I went into Nessie's room and gave her a little kiss before I joined Edward back in the living room. We woke her up an hour later for school. We went over to La Push when she left and did some more tutoring. Edward's class was at five, but I continued to work with them until almost ten o'clock at night. We worked so late because they wanted to be back in school by tomorrow. Those kids were some of the toughest that I knew. When I left, they were clearly all brain-dead and ready for some sleep, but Kaylie and Lauren had to go out and run patrol. They were supposed to run at ten o'clock this morning, but they had switched with Brooke and Leah so they could work all day. They were passionate about protecting their tribe, and that was a good enough reason for them.

We stayed at the big house tonight while Nessie slept. Edward's test had gone well and he was looking forward to his training at the hospital. He was going to work with Carlisle mostly. Carlisle didn't say anything, but I was pretty sure he was nearly as excited as Edward was. Connor usually went to Julia's house at night. He snuck in through her window. He didn't tell me this, but I think Edward gave him the idea.

So around four in the morning, Emmett came up with an idea. Now when Emmett comes up with ideas, we usually all run away with our tail between our legs. We've all learned the hard way that Emmett's ideas usually end badly.

"I have an idea," Emmett said.

"Run!" Jasper said immediately.

"Did the thinking hurt much?" Edward asked him.

Emmett looked seriously hurt, but we all knew he was faking. "C'mon will you just listen to it?"

"I already did," Edward said.

"And?" Rosalie asked.

"Oh sweet god," Alice said as she slapped her hand on her forehead. She had obviously just seen what we would be doing.

"Emmett what's your idea?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "Okay just listen," he said. "Bella, do you think you could find Edward if your ears were plugged, your eyes were blindfolded, your nose was shut, and all you had was your hands?"

I gave him a weird look. "Um… maybe? Probably? I don't know. Oh gosh, you want me to try to do that?"

He wagged his eyebrows. "Not just you, everybody."

"Oh I married a genius," Rosalie said.

"Thanks, Rose," Emmett said sarcastically.

"Anytime," she said just as sarcastically.

"So who's up for it?" He asked.

"Do I even have a choice?" Rosalie asked him.

"Not if somebody else agrees to it babe," Emmett said.

I looked at Edward suspiciously. He rolled his eyes, but nodded. I sighed. "Okay, Emmett, you've got us."

"Oh joy," Rosalie scoffed under her breath.

"Okay," Alice said cheerfully. She must have seen that she and Jasper would be able to do it.

"Why not?" Esme agreed.

"One more thing," Emmett said sneakily. "You can't talk."

Five minutes later, we were all out in the woods behind the house. We all had our ears plugged, and our eyes blindfolded. I had a clip on my nose, but so did everyone else. We all spread out around the woods, and I went until I could only hear the others feet shuffling. Standing alone in the middle of the woods, with most of my senses taken away, I felt pretty stupid. "Hey Edward," I called. "Why did we agree to this?"

I heard him sigh. "Because for some reason, I keep thinking that one day, Emmett will have a good idea. I have yet to see that day." His voice was far off, but I could hear him of course. We both sounded nasally because our noses were plugged.

"I'm going to ignore that," Emmett yelled. "GO!"

I sighed. I heard the others start moving around me. I tried to block out everything, except Edward. I couldn't smell him or see him, but I could feel his presence. I felt protected, like I always did when Edward was anywhere near me. I didn't even know what was happening, but my body did. My feet started shuffling, and my arms felt out in front of me. I moved quickly through the woods, and I could feel Edward moving toward me at an even faster pace. I moved past someone, I think it was Alice, who was moving slower, but with a purpose. Whenever I felt lost, I stopped, and just let my body tell me where to go. Soon, I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my body as I got nearer to Edward. I started to run, and jumped into Edward's arms a second later.

He wrapped his arms around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. He leaned his head on mine, and we sat down where we were to wait for the other to finish. I took the clip off my nose, and untied my blindfold. I smiled at Edward as he did the same. We took the plugs out of our ears and looked around us. The sight we saw was amazing. It was like the others were being pulled by invisible strings toward the each other. Carlisle and Esme connected just a second after us, and Rosalie and Emmett followed suit about a minute later. Alice and Jasper were just behind them. When they got their blindfolds off, we all looked around for a second, and then burst out laughing.

"That was friking weird!" Emmett said.

I was still laughing. "Who got to each other first?" Jasper asked.

"We did," Edward said. "And let me tell you that was even weirder to watch."

"It was like being pulled by a magnet," Carlisle said.

I sighed and smiled at Edward. "Hey, I guess we really were met for each other," I said as if in surprise.

"Really?" He asked sarcastically. "I thought there was someone else."

I scoffed.

"Whoa!" I heard someone say. I about jumped out of my skin. I hopped onto my feet and looked above me. Nessie was sitting silently about twenty feet above our heads.

"Renesmee Carlie what are you doing up there?" Edward asked her.

"Well, I woke up and heard you guys doing something and I wanted to know what it was. So I came out here and that was _really freaky._"

"You do know its four thirty in the morning?" Edward said to her.

"Well, no I didn't, but I wondered why I was tired." She said this very matter-of-factly, and then she smirked. She looked so much like Edward when she did this it made me gasp.

"Well if you're tired why don't you go back to bed?" I suggested.

She sighed. "Right." She climbed down and without another word sprinted back to the house and shut the door behind her.

"That girl," I said to Edward.

"Well I like her okay," Edward said with a smile.

"She's a crazy one," I muttered.

"Well that's good," Edward told me. "That also means she's a fighter."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Edward and I went hunting that morning. We took down a whole herd of dear. I drove to Seattle with Edward during the afternoon for one of his classes. It was a short one, and we made it home in time for Nessie. Julia came home with them today, and they all did their homework together. Julia worked for about an hour, and Nessie and Connor were done in about fifteen minutes.

Connor and Julia went up to his room for a while, and I could hear Julia strumming away on her guitar. After a few minutes of us all subconsciously listening to Julia play, Edward snapped out of the transfixing tune. "I'm going to go get the mail," he said. He stood up and darted out the front door and into the downpour. Within seconds he was back in the house. In his hand he held the mail.

He started going through the handful of things. "Carlisle… Esme… me… Alice…" He paused in his sorting, and I watched as his face grew into a shocked expression. Nobody was watching him as carefully as I was, just like always, and no one saw his face at first.

"Edward?" I said.

The confusion in my voice turned all eyes to Edward's face. "Carlisle…" he said. Carlisle came up and stood behind him.

Edward handed him the envelope in his hand. "The Volturi are writing to us," he said quietly.

This got everyone's attention. Carlisle peeled open the letter. Alice put her face in her hands, and Nessie walked into the kitchen. Alice's head snapped up almost immediately, and her eyes met Edward's. In one instant I saw that whatever was in that letter wasn't good.

"Dear Cullen's," Carlisle began. "Well, well, well, my dear friends, it seems you have gotten yourselves into trouble again." Carlisle continued to read. "It seems we are repeating history here. It has come to my knowledge that once again, you have been seen showing less than human qualities to, in fact, a human. As I am sure you know, this is not the first time this has happened. So, regretfully, we must treat this situation delicately, as we did last time." Carlisle paused and shook his head. Edward leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "We know not the situation, but we do know this; a human knows about us, and this is not acceptable. As with last time, we must warn you. There are four options; you kill the human, we kill the human, you change the human, or we change the human. We apologize for any inconvenience. Regretfully yours, The Volturi: Aro, Caius, Marcus, and their guard."

I bowed my head, and shut my eyes. Why, why, _why_ did this have to happen? Connor and Julia hadn't even been together for a year yet. How could they do this? Now Julia faced death, or immortality. Something that I never wanted for me, or anyone else. The decision to be made immortal needed to be dealt with carefully. "What have we gone and done now Edward?" I muttered. I rolled my head back onto my shoulders. This was our fault. No, my fault. I was the first person to be put in this situation, making the Volturi suspicious of the Cullen's forever. Maybe if I hadn't done what I'd done, they wouldn't know about Julia, because they wouldn't have anything to suspect us of. This was my fault.

I heard Connor come down the stairs then. I didn't want to look at him. I didn't want to see the position he'd been put in written all over his face. "Connor what's going on?" I heard Julia ask. He didn't answer her. I knew everyone was avoiding her face. I put my head back down, and I covered my face with my hands. I felt Edward come over and sit down next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I had to do something. I was the only one who had ever been in this situation, and I needed to help Julia if I could.

"Connor what's wrong?" Julia asked again.

"It's going to be okay Julia," I heard Connor say quietly. I could tell he was wrapping his arms around her.

I sat up and opened my eyes. I saw Nessie leaning on the doorway into the kitchen. She was refusing to look at me, but I saw the tears of fright in her eyes. Back when Nessie was much younger, she used to wake up crying, sometimes screaming in her sleep. Edward would hold her and sing to her and rock her until she fell back asleep. Edward told me her nightmares were always centered on the Volturi. She hadn't had these dreams in years, but sometimes I wondered if she was still scared. The look on her face now was more than clear that my suspicions had been correct. She wasn't scared, she was terrified. It must be like one of her nightmares was coming to life. Only this time daddy couldn't rock her and hold her and make everything okay again.

"Come here honey," Edward said. Nessie ran to him. He opened up his arms and she curled into them. Her 5'0" body still fit inside his strong arms. He held onto her and she hid in his shoulder. "It's okay Nessie don't cry, I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

She continued to cry, but it was still silently. "Julia," I said as calmly as I could muster. "Why don't you come sit by me?"

She came out of Connor's arms and sat down by me. "What's going on Bella?" She asked tentatively.

I reached out for the letter from Carlisle. He handed it to me and I gave it to Julia. I watched as she read it slowly. Her face went from confused to shock within seconds. "Are you kidding me?" She asked. She didn't sound sad or upset or even scared. Just really mad. "Who do they think they are? Ugh, well that's annoying, and death threats _really_ put a damper on my day!" She still didn't sound upset, just angry.

I looked at Edward. He didn't seem to know what to say to this. I looked at her again. "Okay," she said. "Let's look at this logically."

Connor scoffed. "That's kind of my thing," he said grimly.

"Four options," she repeated. "Two of them I end up dead, two of them I end up…undead. Hm… I'm not going with the whole idea of being dead. Then again… I really don't want to meet this... Volturi unless I'm there to watch them burn."

She sat down and sighed. "Connor," she said quietly. "You are smart enough to realize that out of those four options only one of them is even plausible to look at."

He put his face in his hands. "There _has_ to be a better option," he muttered.

"Connor," she said with exasperation. "What's a better time than now, when my life is in danger? Why not now?" Her voice had risen as she continued on.

"Because Julia," he yelled back. "I don't want this for you! I don't want this for anybody! If there is any other option, any other way, I'm not just going to sit back and watch as it goes by!"

Nessie had calmed herself enough now and was sitting up. She slid off of Edward's lap and whispered in my ear, "I'm going to go find Jacob." I nodded slightly. She ran out the front door at a dead sprint.

"Julia," Connor said a little more calmly. Nessie's exit had given him a moment to calm down. "I could never forgive myself if I let this happen to you." He gestured around the room.

She took a deep shaky breath, and I could tell she was getting very frustrated. "Fine," she said quickly. "Let's see what happens first; natural death or maybe someone will kill me." She took another deep breath, and then calmly walked out the door. Connor didn't make a move to follow her.

He sat down in the recliner and put his head in his hands. He muttered something that sounded an awful lot like a string of profanities. He looked at Edward. "Now what?" He sighed.

Edward shrugged. "I don't know. But… you're going to lose Connor."

Connor sighed again. "I know." He was quiet for a moment. "I guess I've always known."

I stood up a few silent minutes later. "I'm going to go get Nessie; I have to talk to Jake anyways."

I walked out the back door and started running before I hit the woods. About thirty seconds into the run, I saw something that made my lifeless heart break. Julia was walking along the side of the road, and she was silently crying her eyes out. I wanted to comfort her, but even I didn't know how. I knew what it felt like to want something, someone, so bad. To feel like it's in your grasp, but no one else wants to do it. To feel like no one else wants you that way. I was wrong to feel that way of course, I knew that now, but Julia didn't. She would have to learn just like I had.

When I started to see the familiar houses of La Push, I slowed to a walk. I could hear voices from inside the houses, and what I heard made me laugh. Joel and Leah were trying to get Alexis to sleep, and keep Nick occupied long enough not to bother her. It sounded to me like Nick loved his little sister just a little bit too much. I listened for Jake's voice and I heard him and Nessie at Jared and Kim's house. Kim was working, like most of the imprints did, so Jared was watching David. Considering he was only a month old, that was quite a task without a mommy there to help. I could hear him sucking contently on a bottle, and from the smell I could tell he was in Jared's arms.

I knocked before I went in. "Come in," Jared said quietly. I'm sure he could tell it was me. I walked into the house.

"Hi," Nessie said. She was sitting on the couch with Jake's arm on her shoulders. "What's going on?"

I sighed. "Well, you heard the ultimatum. Connor of course is still looking for another way, another option. Julia got a little frustrated, and she walked out. I saw her on the way here. She's pretty upset."

Nessie nodded. "Well, I don't pretend to understand, but I'm sure I would be upset too."

I ran my hand through my long hair. "I wish I could help. I mean… I _should_ be able to. I just, I don't know how to put my help into words sometimes. I mean, when I was the human who tried to keep up with the vampires, I just pretty much ran at it with my eyes closed. Most of the decisions I made were based on feelings that I had at that time."

I laughed a little. "But I guess that's love. Strong feelings, jacked up teenage hormones, and a crazy kind of rush. Never knowing what's coming, but not caring."

Nessie smirked her daddy's smirk at me. "See," she started. "That would have been really sweet, except for the fact that you were talking about my parents. Which so forth makes it gross."

I grinned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah miss teenager. Mom and Dad and romance in the same room is the end of the world."

"Let's go home," she said. "I want to sit in my tree for a while." She walked out the door then. The tallest tree behind the Cullen house had become known as Nessie's tree. She was up there so much, I was positive she had some of her old things up there still. We had to get back anyway, Edward, Carlisle, and I had work tonight.

"It's going to be okay Bells," Jake said matter-of-factly.

I smiled at him. "I know that, but she doesn't." I smiled at Jared. "Having fun?" I asked him half sarcastically.

He yawned. "It's great," he sighed. He looked at David then. He had drifted to sleep in his arms. It was a sight for sore eyes.

"I'm sure," I muttered. I waved to Jake and followed Nessie out the door. I started at a sprint when I reached the woods. I could hear Nessie ahead of me, running as fast as her legs would carry her. I heard something else in the distance. I blocked out the sound of Nessie's feet hitting the ground, and listened closely. Though it was not my ears that told me something was wrong. It was the smell of blood. Human blood.

Someone was hurt. I could hear them moaning in pain. I didn't know who it was, but I hurtled myself in their direction. I could hear Nessie's feet going to the same place mine were. As I got closer to the person, I tried to see who it was. What I saw made my head spin, my knees go weak, and my stomach get tight.

Nessie had gotten there just then. Her startled scream was exactly what I felt like. Lying there huddled on the ground was Julia. Though not the Julia I had seen walking home a mere twenty minutes ago. No, this Julia was broken, bruised, and bleeding. She was unconscious, but moaning in her troubled sleep. Someone had hurt her…

"Nessie, go! Get help now!" I half yelled at her. She didn't need telling twice. She sprinted off into the woods and I heard her yelling for Edward within seconds. I dropped to my knees by Julia. She had a large gash covering her forehead. It would need stitches. Most of the fingers on her right hand looked broken. From the way she was huddled there were broken ribs too. Her hands and knees were scraped up, and her lip was bleeding. That wasn't the part that had scared me though. It was the bruises covering her body. I could see the knuckle marks where the fists had hit her. Someone else's fists.

They covered her face, and I could see her nose hadn't been broken thankfully. There was blood coming out of it though. The bruises went down her neck, and I could see ones still forming on her shoulders. Whoever had done this was still near…

I looked around me naturally. Whoever had done this, was sick. Who would hurt a seventeen-year-old girl? A girl in Forks, of all places. I carefully leaned over her and looked at the back of her neck. Two more slashes near the bottom. I neared them, and smelled. Though the smell was completely compelling for me to drink, I ignored it. Around the smell of the delicious blood, I smelled a trace of metal. These slashes had come from a knife.

I looked down at Julia's body. Her jeans were torn at the knee, and her long sleeved shirt had been torn by her abdomen. There was a cut across her stomach. It was shallow in comparison to the others, but still deep. She was shaking; she was losing so much blood…

My unneeded breathing was coming hard and fast through my mouth. I could still hear Nessie screaming. I heard the back door of the house slam, and eight pairs of feet hitting the ground, Edward in the lead. He burst through the trees seconds later, followed by everyone else. Nessie had tears running down her face; Edward looked like he was in shock.

But the look on Connor's face was pure agony. He looked like he was having his heart ripped out, which I'm sure that's what he felt like. He fell to his knees by her head. Carlisle spoke first, which broke us all into action. "Esme call an ambulance," he said quickly. She whipped out her cell phone immediately. He knelt down beside me. "Bella help me get her onto her back." He held her neck still while I slowly moved her onto her back. She moaned in her sleep.

Connor's head fell. "Connor," Carlisle said calmly. "Go hold her right hand gently. The coolness will help the swelling go down." Connor crawled to her right side. I'm sure he was happy to be doing something.

I heard Esme telling the hospital where we were. "Edward, find out how many ribs are broken. Bella, hold her head still while I look at this cut…" Carlisle continued to instruct. I held my hands on her neck, bracing it so it wouldn't roll.

"Pulse feels decent…" I muttered.

"They're coming," Esme announced.

"Emmett, Rose," Carlisle said. "Rip this into bandages." He threw his light weight jacket at them. He was left in only a t-shirt. They immediately began ripping it to shreds.

"I count three broken ribs," Edward said.

Carlisle sighed. "We'll just have to try not to move them. Help me with these cuts; leave the one on her stomach, its fine."

"Carlisle, it was a knife," Alice said.

"I know," Carlisle said gravely. He didn't look up from his work.

I heard the ambulance in the distance. "Jasper go meet the ambulance at the road and bring them here," Carlisle said. Jasper took off.

"Carlisle," I said. I showed him the blood on my hands. I had my head turned away.

"You're fine," Carlisle said confidently. He met my gaze for half a second and I barely nodded my head.

The EMT's burst through the trees behind Jasper, and I recognized John and Cole from the hospital. John ran to get the stretcher as Cole ran toward us.

"Oh my god," Cole said.

"Let's get her to the hospital," Carlisle said.

"Pulse is good," I repeated to Cole.

John came up then with the stretcher. "Oh my god," he said as well. It took him a second to get into action. "Do I need a rape kit?" He asked.

Oh gosh. I hadn't thought of that. Connor's head snapped up. Apparently neither had he. "I don't know," Carlisle said calmly. We carefully moved her onto the stretcher and they put the neck brace on. Carlisle climbed in front with John and Edward climbed in the back.

"Go with them," I whispered to Connor. He went immediately.

"C'mon," I said as the ambulance drove away. I started running toward the garage and everyone followed. I grabbed my key to the Volvo and hopped in. Nessie, Alice, Jasper, and Esme rode with me. Emmett and Rose took Carlisle's car. I drove at break-neck speed all the way to the hospital and they were just getting her through the doors as we pulled up. I hopped out of the car immediately and ran up to them. "Connor," I said. He didn't look at me. "Connor, how can we contact her dad?"

He looked up as we kept walking down the corridor. They were taking her to the ICU. "Her dad's out of town on business, he's not coming back for two weeks. Our best bet would be his cell phone."

"What's the number?" I asked.

He rattled off the digits, and I stopped and turned the other way, back to the secretary. I gave her the number and told her what I knew so far, and she copied it all down so she could give him as much information as possible. I ran back through the ICU until I got to the sign-in slot. Carlisle had signed in as the doctor on duty, and Edward had signed in as a student doctor. I signed in so I could legally take care of her, and I ran to go find them, pulling on my nurse's jacket as I ran. They were in one of the larger rooms, and Edward was putting a needle in her wrist. Probably trying to put some pain meds into her. "Bella," Carlisle said. "Help me with these stitches in her forehead." I immediately walked over to him.

I put on my rubber gloves and grabbed a sterilizer pad. I began to wipe down the area we would be stitching up. "Should I put her under?" Edward asked. Carlisle nodded. I saw John and Cole leave the room then. Their job was done. Carlisle began to stitch up the large cut in her forehead, and I helped him finish it off. It was only fifteen stitches, because the cut wasn't too long. Who would do this? Carlisle began to look at the cuts on her neck then, so I moved down to where Edward was. He seemed to be focusing on comfort of the patient right now.

He was working on her scrapes. I handed him a sterilizer pad, and grabbed one for myself. We each started wiping down her different scrapes and bandaging them. I put gauze on her knees, and Edward did the same to her hands. "She'll need x-rays on her hand and ribs and an MRI on her head, she might have a concussion." Carlisle informed us. As soon as all the places she was bleeding from were somewhat under control, we began to walk her to the x-rays. I moved her IV pack and Edward pushed the stretcher. Connor was still holding her hand.

The x-ray technician was just as shocked as we were the first time we saw Julia. He x-rayed her hand first, and her first three fingers were broke, her thumb and pinky were okay, so she wouldn't need a cast. To me it looked like she had tried to punch whoever was hurting her. When they took the MRI, she had a very slight concussion. It was probably from being hit so many times in the face. She had three ribs that were completely snapped, and one that was cracked. She was going to be in a lot of pain when she woke up. After the x-rays we wheeled her back to an ICU room. Edward got some ice for her bruises and Connor held it on either side of her face like Edward had showed him. "Oh, Connor," I said. "Here," I handed him some rubber gloves. "ICU, they're required by visitors and staff." I ducked out of the room then to go see if they had gotten a hold of Mr. Bird. When I talked to the secretary, they hadn't talked to him yet.

I went out to the waiting room where the rest of the family was still waiting for news on Julia. I came out of the emergency room doors and peeled off my rubber gloves as I walked up to them. "Bella!" Esme said immediately. "What's going on? Is Julia okay?"

Everyone was waiting on my answer. Nessie was sitting next to Rose with her head on her shoulder. She had stopped crying, but her eyes looked tired. I shrugged my shoulders in answer to Esme's questions. "She's stable. Her head is fine, but she needed fifteen stitches across that gash. Her first three fingers are broken, and she has three snapped ribs. Another one is cracked. Most of the cuts weren't too deep, but those bruises are going to give her some trouble. The deepest cuts that didn't need stiches are on the back of her neck and across her stomach. She's going to be in a lot of pain when she wakes up. Edward had to sedate her."

"Oh my gosh," Emmett said.

Everyone else was silent. Then Alice asked the question everyone wanted to know. "Is Connor okay?"

I sighed. "He hasn't said anything. I'm hoping he's talking to Edward now."

Nessie's head came off Rose's shoulder. "This has been a really scary day, mom."

"I know sweetie," I said. I held my arms out to her. She jumped up and ran to me. I held onto her for a few seconds. She was only a few inches shorter than me now. "Why don't you go home?" I suggested.

"I'll take you," Jasper volunteered. The sad and worried feelings around the hospital bothered him.

"Thanks Jazz," she said. I kissed the top of her head. I watched them walk out of the hospital doors, and Alice's head shot up.

"She's going to wake up at midnight, and Edward's going to knock her out again," she said. I looked at my watch. It was now almost ten o'clock at night.

"Right," I said. "Well, I should probably get back there. I just realized that she isn't in a hospital gown, and I'm sure neither Edward nor Carlisle wants to mess with that. I'm also going to try to get all the dried blood washed out of her hair, and wipe down her skin. You'd be surprised at how much better you feel just by being clean."

Esme nodded. "Keep us updated Bella," she said.

As I walked back through the ICU I could hear Carlisle and Edward down a separate hallway with some of the other employees. They were trying to give Connor some space. I went to join them. "Hey," Edward said as I walked up. "Did you talk to them?"

Everyone was looking at us. Cole and John were there, along with Shannon, Grace, Braydon, and Nicole. Apparently everyone had heard about what had happened and were coming down to see what was going on. "Yeah," I said. "Our daughter is terrified, and I don't know what to do."

He sighed. "Where is she?"

"She went home," I told him. "Jasper took her." I paused for a second. "When you walk up on someone you know, half beaten to death, on the way home from a hike…" I trailed off, and shuddered. I was very good at lying…

"Well," Edward said. "At least we learned something today." He sounded slightly cheerful.

"And what's that?" I asked.

"That Nessie is very fast, and she can scream loudly and run at the same time." He smirked at me.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Wow, I walk up on your brother's girlfriend half beaten to death, and you're impressed at how loud and fast someone is."

"Hey," he said. "At least it's a positive comment."

"So how do you like being parents?" Shannon asked. She had two girls and three boys at home.

I watched Edward's face and waited for him to answer. His eyes got really big, and his eyebrows shot up. "It's really, really scary," he told her.

She laughed. "I feel your pain." She stopped laughing. "Although I hear you two were thrown headfirst into parenthood."

I snickered. "That's one way of saying it."

Everyone laughed then. "You know what they say," Edward said. "Life changes in a second."

I looked at my watch. It was nearing ten thirty now. I touched Edward's arm. "I'm going to go get Julia cleaned up."

He nodded. "I'll be in there in… fifteen minutes. I'm going to do the injury report."

"I'll see you guys later," I said as I waved good-bye.

As I walked into the room, what I saw took my breath away. Lying next to Julia, covered in her blood himself, was Connor. The fact that her blood wasn't even making him flinch was a miracle in itself. He had his arms loosely wrapped around her, and his face gently resting on hers. His eyes were closed, and her face looked peaceful underneath all the bruises. Now that I looked at her, her beauty still shown through, from the inside out. When I came in the room, Connor's eyes darted open.

"Sorry," I said.

"It's fine," he said immediately.

"I just came in here to clean her up," I told him. "Get her into a clean gown; get some of the blood out her hair and stuff."

He nodded. "I'll leave until she's changed, but… Bella could you come get me when you're done with that?"

"Of course," I said.

He smiled at me a little, and strode out of the room. I began to gently lift the clothes off of Julia. She mumbled a little in her sleep, but I kept working. After slipping one of the extra soft gowns we used in the ICU over her head, I went to get Connor. He was leaning on the wall outside of the room. "C'mon," I said.

He followed me into the room. I gave him a sterilizer, and pointed to her arms. "If anyone asks, I didn't let you do this," I told him.

He nodded his head. "Do what?" He asked sarcastically.

We worked in silence for a few minutes, me on her legs, he on her arms. "Bella?" He said breaking the tension.

I glanced at him. "What if…" he started. "What if it was, you know… rape. What are we going to do?"

"Connor," I said. "If it was rape, we'll deal with it." I thought for a moment. "But, I wouldn't worry about that too much. I've seen rape scenes and rape patients, and that's not what they look like, I promise."

He nodded. "If you say so."


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

As soon as I finished getting all the dirt off of her legs I moved up to her hair. I grabbed a brush, and the shampoo that you don't have to wash out. I poured the shampoo into the brush and slowly began tugging out the blood in her knotty hair. Connor finished with her arms and looked at me. "Well," I said. "I heard from a very reliable source that Julia here is going to wake up at midnight. Why don't you do this so I can go get my husband?"

He smiled at me, then took the brush I handed him. I walked out of the room and sniffed the air for Edward's scent. He was in the nurses' station across the building. I started to walk through the hallways toward him. Almost all the conversations I heard between the employees were centered around Julia. Nothing like this had ever happened in Forks before, and people were worrying. Because the hospital was so small, I was with Edward in a matter of minutes.

The nurses' station was crowded with workers signing in and out from the evening shift to the night shift. Edward was in a corner standing bent over the counter filling out the report. "Hey there," I said.

"Hi," he said back.

I lowered my voice so we would be the only ones who could hear it. "She's waking up in thirty minutes," I muttered.

He looked up at me. "I should put her back under for another fifteen minutes or so. Give the pain meds time to work."

I nodded. "Let's walk back together," he said as he scribbled his signature across the bottom of the report.

We made our way across the hospital and into the ICU. I could hear Julia as she started to move around in her unconsciousness. The medicine was wearing off fast. When we got to her room Connor was sitting in a chair by her head. The bruises and scrapes didn't look near as bad once she was all cleaned up. The most painful thing for her would be the broken ribs. Hopefully the cracked one would heal before we had to take her off of the pain meds completely.

"Hey," Edward said as we walked into the room. Connor looked up. "Well it doesn't look nearly as bad when it's all cleaned up." He walked over to the IV bag. "I'm going to put her under for just a few more minutes, the pain meds won't be working yet."

As Edward adjusted the flow of medicine in her IV, we were silent. "So," Edward said as he finished. "Nobody's asked this, but how are you doing Connor?" Leave it to Edward to ask the question on everybody's mind.

I watched Connor's face carefully. His eyes stayed completely blank. "I don't know," Connor said quietly. "I'm really angry at whoever did this to her. What did she do wrong? Nothing, and they hurt her for that. It's not right!" His voice had gotten slightly louder, but he kept it in check. "To see her like that," he said, quiet once more. "It was awful. Lying on the ground, broken and bleeding. For nothing, other than some person's sick pleasure."

His eyes hadn't left her face the whole time he had spoke. "How do you forget something like that, and just let that person walk away free?" He now was looking at Edward.

Edward seemed to be at a loss for words for a second. "Connor," he started gently. "If Julia wants, we can press charges. But here's the thing; most patients that are attacked aren't ready to talk about it right away. Julia will be different when she wakes up, at least at first. She's going to be scared, and feel very vulnerable. She might not want to talk for a while, and that's just going to have to be okay. At this time tomorrow we might be holding the police, and maybe even some reporters back for the safety of the patient. Now, by law, they can't ask her anything until we give permission, and I won't give permission until she does." Edward sighed. "So the person who did this, whoever did this, might never be caught."

Connor was still, and then said calmly, "I understand." Julia started to move again, first her toes and fingers twitched, and then her head. She started to mumble and moan again, but the words were still undecipherable. She was tossing her head back and forth, and then started to try and sit up. Still not fully awake, she couldn't understand where the pain was coming from in her ribs. That was one thing; the pain meds only worked fully when she wasn't trying to jostle the body part the medicine was in her for. So in this case, she was causing her ribs unnecessary pain. So very gently, I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down.

The second my hands made contact with her, her eyes flew open. Everyone was just as startled by this as I was. But what came next was even more unexpected. "No!" Julia said loudly. She looked around her wildly, but her eyes were still glazed over. "Don't! Don't touch me!" She started to flail her arms and kick her feet. Edward moved into action immediately.

He ran to the door and stuck his head out of it. "I need help in here," he said calmly. He dashed back to the bed where Julia was still looking around her wildly.

"Don't hurt me!" She said this more loudly still. Edward grabbed her leg and pushed it gently back onto the bed. Then he did this with her arms. In our training, we were taught to not hold the patient down, but to repeatedly put them back gently. A nurse came flying into the room. She recognized what was going on immediately and took over on Julia's arms. Julia was now flailing one of her arms across her chest so violently that she was threatening to upset her broken bones. Forgetting her shoulders and dubbing the arm more threatening, I moved to help the nurse with Julia's arm.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Connor move into action. He calmly walked back around to where I had been standing, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Stop!"She screamed immediately.

"Julia," Connor said loudly but calmly. "Julia, honey, stop. It's me, it's Connor. Stop Julia. It's okay, you're safe, no one is here to hurt you." As he had been talking, I had watched as Julia's eyes started to come into focus. Her arms had stopped flailing, and the other nurse and I backed away immediately. Edward did this as she stopped kicking.

"Connor?" Julia said quietly. His face was right by hers. He didn't say anything, just looked at her. There was a beat of silence as we waited to see what she would do next. "Oh Connor!" She said. She started to cry somewhat hysterically. "What happened? Where am I? Where… where… OW!" Her voice trailed off as she felt the pain spread through her body.

"Sh, Julia don't cry honey, it's okay. You're okay," Connor told her, still calm as ever. There was Connor being his normal logical self. Her tears still flowed without fail, but they were quieted by his voice.

"I need to get back to my patient," the nurse muttered to me. I nodded at her.

"What happened Connor?" Julia asked more calmly.

"We found you," Connor said. "And… we called an ambulance. I don't know who hurt you honey."

Julia gasped, then moaned. Gasping hurt broken ribs. "C-C-Connor," she stuttered. "I-I don't w-w-want to t-talk about it." She was shaking her head furiously, and the tears were coming harder than ever.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it," Connor said immediately. "Just lay back for a while honey, you have some broken ribs."

Julia relaxed into the pillows with a slight wince. "Connor I'm so scared," she said in a broken whisper.

"It's going to be okay Julia, don't be afraid," Connor murmured soothingly.

Julia looked around her. Edward and I were still standing back by the door. Her face looked so hurt, and broken… "Um," Julia said. "Can one of you tell me… what's wrong with me? How bad am I?"

"You're in the ICU, Julia," I told her. "You have fifteen stitches in your head, three broken ribs and one cracked, your first three fingers on your right hand are broken, and you have two slash marks on the back of your neck, and one across your stomach. You're bruised and scraped everywhere. Oh, and you have a very slight concussion."

As I spoke, she started to shake, and her eyes were filled with tears again. "I was so stupid," she said.

"No, Julia, you weren't stupid honey," Connor said.

"Yes, yes I was, right after you got that letter…" she trailed off.

"Wait, what does that letter have anything to do with this Julia?" Connor asked, sounding confused.

Julia shuddered and a small sob came from her chest. "C-Connor, t-they…. They did this." She gestured around her.

"Who did what?" Connor asked. I was just as confused as he was, but Edward gasped and came to stand closer to me. Whatever Julia was thinking, made him feel threatened. I could see it in the way he was holding his jaw, in a half snarl.

"Those… those people. That Volturi…" She started.

Connor jumped up. "Please explain," he said after a second. He was leaning towards her.

She took a shaky, shallow breath. "I'll… I'll start at the beginning." She looked around her again, then back at Connor, her crying had stopped, but she still looked terrified. "I was walking home. All of the sudden… there were arms around me, and we were running. For a second… I… I thought it was you." She was still gazing at Connor. "B-but then I looked up… and it, it was a stranger. He had dark hair, and red eyes. We ran for only a second, and he set me down." Her breathing became shallow, and I started to wonder about the way her heart was beating… "He… all he said was 'W-Warning number one'." She started to cry again. "And then he started to hit me. He had a knife. It… it was all so fast… I couldn't even scream… I tried to fight him off… but…" She looked down at her broken fingers. "You know how that went. The last thing… the last thing he said to me… was 'The Volturi aren't playing around. Decide quickly… or we decide for you.' Then he hit me on the back of the head, and I blacked out before I hit the ground." She was sobbing again.

Nobody moved, I grabbed Edward's hand. "What do we do?" I asked more to myself than to anyone else. I knew Connor knew the answer, because that's how his mind worked. Edward knew the answer because Connor did. I thought the only possible answer is we turn Julia. What nobody was saying out loud was the only thing that could make this stop, the only thing that would make sure nobody ever attacked us because of her again. Of course we had to turn her. But… what if she wasn't ready? What if… she didn't want it so soon?

Nobody had answered my question, but I knew the answer. Connor spoke first. "What do you want Julia?" He said this very quietly, and very calmly.

Julia looked at him for a second, and closed her eyes. Even through her lids, the tears came flowing down her cheeks still. I could hear her trying to breathe, but I'm sure it was hard enough with the broken ribs. This really wasn't good for an ICU patient… "I don't know." She said this quietly but quickly. Nobody said anything to her. Her eyes opened. "Connor…" she said. "I… I know what I want… in the end. But… there are so many things in between here and there I just…" She trailed off. "I feel like… Like I'm threatened, which I guess I am. I'm putting your family in danger. I can't wait… I can't…"

She was starting to become hysterical. "Julia, Julia, calm down honey. Just calm down." Connor put his arms around her shoulders again. She flinched a little, but leaned her head into him almost immediately. The cold hands must have frightened her because of what that monster had done to her…

"Julia," Connor said as soon as she had more control of herself. "Julia, I want you to listen to me." She nodded her head a little. "Julia, nobody is rushing you, you understand me? You can wait as long as you want. Nobody is going to make you. Not even the Volturi. I promise."

Julia had stopped crying all together now. Her eyes were wide open. "But… but Connor what if they come after you next? What if they hurt your family?"

He barely let her finish her sentence. "Then it's worth it." His face was determined. "If I get hurt, or even my family gets hurt, it'll be worth it."

"How can you say that? I'm not worth that much." She was shaking her head.

Connor let out a quiet, slightly grim laugh. "Oh, but Julia you are. Don't you see? You mean everything to me, and I'll do anything for you."

Edward started pulling on my hand. I let him pull me out of the room, they needed their privacy. We stopped just a little outside the door and he leaned against the wall. He was smiling at me, despite the situation. I looked at him curiously. "Why are you smiling?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess… it's just because somehow, I know everything will be okay." He opened his arms up to me. I walked into them willingly.

I sighed. "I don't see how, but I'm sure you're right. You always are."

He laughed. "I love you," he said.

"Oh," I said. "You have no idea."

He laughed. "We're doomed," he said matter-of-factly.

"Yep."

"Let's go tell the others."

"Oh this'll be good," I muttered.

An hour later I was back in Julia's room. Edward and I had explained to everybody what had happened. They of course had agreed with us. It was Julia's choice, and if that put us in danger, then so be it. We then went to Carlisle, but I had had to leave because the nurse call button had gone off for Julia's room. Since we were in the ICU, the nurse's station was very close to all the rooms. As I walked into the large room, I saw Connor was very gently rubbing his hand up and down Julia's arm. Julia's face was white as the bed sheet, and she looked like she was in some serious pain.

"Oh," I said as I came in. "What's going on?"

"It- hurts," Julia said breathlessly.

"She's having trouble breathing," Connor added.

"Okay," I said, immediately going into nurse mode. "Julia, hold on honey, I don't know if we can give you any more pain meds. Just try to take two quick, but gentle, shallow breaths in, then let it out slowly." I started backing out of the room. I could hear Julia's breathing was way out of wack, but she was doing as I told her. I half jogged to the nurse's station where a doctor, or Edward, should be. Sure enough, when I walked in, Edward was talking to the guy who worked in the nursery. He was great with little babies.

"Edward," I said, interrupting their conversation. "Julia is in some serious pain, of course, and she's having trouble breathing. What do I do?"

He put his full attention on me. The other guy bid him goodbye quickly. "Go get the oxygen mask ready. She's got a rough day coming, and it's only going to get worse. I'm going to up her pain medicine a little, but not enough to take away all the pain. Sit with her, she'll need the support."

We jogged off to the room. I could hear Julia still trying to breathe as I had told her to, but it looked to me like she really couldn't breathe by the color she was turning. Edward came in right behind me. I walked over to the closet where we kept some of the stuff for patients, and I grabbed the oxygen mask. I walked over to where Julia was lying, and plugged it into the oxygen tank. I carefully strapped the mask over her mouth and nose. I turned the machine on, and put my hand on Julia's bruised forehead. I could see Edward messing around with the IV again, adjusting the pain medicine.

"Julia," I said. "This is going to push oxygen into your lungs, like it did after the fire. It's going to be hard, but you can breathe. Just focus on going in and out. I'll sit with you for the rest of the night, as your nurse at least. The others are dying to see you, so they might be coming in here in a few minutes. You just tell me when you want some company." She nodded her head. Her eyes were wide open, probably from the pain, but her color was coming back a little. "I promise Julia, it's going to be okay. I'm working on it, I know your doctors." She smiled a little.

"You should get some sleep," Connor suggested. "It's nearing four thirty in the morning."

Julia shook her head at him. "The pain meds we gave her were strong enough to wipe her out cold," I told him. "She's not going to want to sleep for another few hours. You'll be wiped by about twelve this afternoon though," I informed her.

She sighed a little. The oxygen mask was working properly then… For the next hour Connor and I sat with Julia, she watched a little TV. We couldn't talk because of the mask, but she only needed it for a short amount of time. I took advantage of the time sitting with her to fill out all of her paperwork. Edward came in around five fifteen to let us know that Julia's father had been informed of her accident. He was going to catch a plane from New York, where he was working, late tonight, that's the earliest he could get in. He had given us verbal permission to do whatever was best for Julia until he got in though.

I removed the mask at five thirty and helped Julia sit up a little. Her breathing was much improved; her body was learning to cope with the pain. Carlisle came in at that point. He had spent the entire night running around the hospital to wherever they needed him. "Well, well, well," he said. "How are you Julia?"

"Great," she said quietly, and _very_ sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But if it makes you feel better, in the past ten hours that you've been here, you've been recovering quite nicely. If you keep up at this rate, you will be out of the ICU by late tomorrow."

"That's really great," I said.

She smiled. "Oh good."

Carlisle just checked over all of her vitals, and looked at her broken bones. I left to get her a hot compress for her legs, seeing as they were incredibly sore. When I came back, Carlisle had left, probably going to another room.

"Hey Bella?" Julia said when I came in. "I think I'm ready for some company, if they're still here."

"Oh, I'm sure they are," I said.

I walked out of the ICU and into the waiting room. They were still there; even Jasper and Nessie had come back. "Mom," Nessie said as I came up. "What's going on?"

"Well," I said. "About an hour ago we had a little scare where we needed the oxygen mask, but her body is now coping with the pain. She would like some visitors."

"Well of course," Esme said. They all stood up.

"Hold on," I said. "There are some rules. Rule one; you have to be sixteen to go into the ICU."

We all looked at Nessie. She raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me, but I had my sixteenth birthday in September." She lied very smoothly.

"Works for me," I said. "Second rule, we have to be quiet." I looked pointedly at Emmett.

He gave me a shocked look. "What?" He asked.

"I've got my eyes on you," I said. "Rule three, you all have to wear gloves."

They all nodded. "Come with me," I said. I led them through the waiting room to the ICU. I stopped at the nurse's station.

Edward was in there again, getting another patient's ICU release papers ready. I looked around. "Edward, where are the gloves? Your family is going to visit Ms. Bird."

He looked up. "Oh, um, here." He reached above him and opened the cabinet and threw me the box. "I'll be in there in a sec; I have to go find Carlisle to sign these papers. Be quiet Emmett."

"I didn't say anything!"

"Well, when you do, make sure it's quietly." Emmett clicked his tongue.

I passed out the gloves to everyone. I led them over to Julia's room and poked my head in. "You ready?" I asked her. She nodded her head.

I walked into the room. Everyone followed in behind me. They all lined up around her bed. "How are you feeling Julia?" Alice asked.

Julia scoffed. "Carlisle asked me that too. I told him that I'm doing amazing." She flexed her fingers a little. "Ow."

"I'm sorry," Alice said.

"Yeah…" She said.

"So," Emmett said. "Bella, I have a complaint."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "There are some funky smells in the waiting room," he said matter-of-factly.

"Then go home," I suggested.

"Well that is not very good service," Emmett said.

"We're a hospital Emmett. People in the waiting room usually care more about if the person they're here for is alive. We accomplished that."

Edward came in then. "She's right you know," he said.

"Hi Daddy," Nessie said.

"Hey babe," he said back. He had something in his hand. It was a syringe, and a couple of alcohol wipes. I would have betted money that the needle was something for the bruises. "Julia," Edward said. "I have something to help soothe the ache of the bruises and make them heal faster. It'll go in at the very bottom of your leg."

"Okay…" Julia said. "Go for it."

Edward sighed. "All I can say is, don't shoot the messenger."

Julia's eyes got wide. "That can't be good."

"Well, I suggest you lay down."

I stepped over to the control panel for the bed. Emmett was right in front of it. "Move Emmett," I said.

"Rude much?" He said.

"Yep. Julia, lean all your weight on the back of the bed, don't try to use your abs, it'll hurt a lot."

Julia leaned into the bed. I pushed the button down until the bed was flat out. "I'm scared," Julia said.

"Don't be," Connor said. She grabbed his hand.

"Do you want me to tell you when, or just do it?" Edward asked.

"Just do it," she sighed. I came to stand by Edward. The others let me by. He handed me one of the wipes, and he started to mix up the fluid inside the syringe. "Oh, it's like impending doom," Julia groaned.

"Try not to think about it," Connor suggested.

"Sure," Julia muttered. Edward looked at me, he was done mixing the up the medicine.

"Just do it," I reminded him in his ear.

"I'm hungry," Julia said. "Is the food any good here? _Owwwwww!_"

Edward had just stuck the needle into her leg. "Are you kidding me?" Julia said loudly. "That was ridiculous! OW!"

"Once again, don't shoot the messenger," Edward said.

"You know," Julia said, the irritation clear in her voice. "If it would maybe even hurt you a little, I probably would shoot you right now. That- hurts- really- bad!"

"Sorry," Edward muttered.

"Ok, change of subject," Jasper said. The anger was probably getting to him.

"I've got one. Nessie, as your mother, I must insist you go to school today." I said dryly.

Nessie looked at me. "Okay, but considering I don't know how to drive, I should probably get a ride from someone."

"Ha ha," I said. "I'll take you; night shift ends in two hours."

"Go to school Connor," Julia groaned.

"Um… why?" Her statement had shocked us all.

"Because," she moaned. "One: I need you to get my work. Two: Word travels fast in this town, and Nessie's going to need some help telling the entire three hundred kids in our high school what happened and how I'm doing."

"Oh… um… okay. Will you be okay sitting alone by yourself for the entire day?" He looked apprehensive.

"She won't be alone," I said. "I get done here at about the same time you'll need to leave, and then I can sit with her as a friend, not as her nurse, for most of the morning. The only thing is, I need to go home to 'sleep' at some point. I'll be your night nurse again tonight," I told Julia.

"Yeah," Julia said bravely. "And I'll be fine until you get off of school. It's not like I can't occupy myself for a few hours. Maybe I'll get to have another one of those lovely shots." She glared at Edward.

"So… then… I guess I'll be going to school." Connor said.

For an hour and a half we all stood around and talked, and occasionally laughed. Edward and I had to zip out a few times to go check on other patients, but we only missed a few things. Around seven, Julia made Connor take himself and Nessie to school. The others left at this point too, and Edward and I signed out with Carlisle. Edward and Carlisle went home to 'sleep' and Julia and I were left alone. I was still in the clothes from yesterday, but I took off my nurse's lab jacket. I looked awful gory, covered in Julia's blood, but hey, that's all I had.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

Nothing much happened for the majority of the morning. Julia ordered breakfast, and I taught her how to play a few of the card games I had picked up at the hospital. At exactly nine o'clock, we got a very strange phone call from Connor. He had called Julia's cell phone, which she told me to answer. She couldn't really from all of the needles and bandages.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Um… hi this is Connor. Bella is that you?" Connor's voice rang through the phone.

"Yes it is. Um… Connor…. Why are you using your cell phone at school? They weren't allowed the last time I checked."

"They still aren't," Connor said. "But Julia was right. Everyone wanted to know what's going on, even my bio teacher. He gave me permission to just call over here and put you on speaker phone. So right now you're actually talking to my whole biology class."

"Oh… um… okay. Hi biology class. I'm going to have to put Julia on speaker; she can't really hold the phone right now."

I clicked the button for the speaker phone. "Okay, Connor here she is."

"Hi Julia."

"Hi," Julia said quietly.

"I already told the class what happened to you, but do you want to tell them what's actually wrong?"

"Uh…" Julia said. "Sure. I have three broken ribs and one that's cracked, my first three fingers are broken, I have a very slight concussion, bruises cover every inch of my body, I have fifteen stitches in my forehead, I have a cut that goes across my stomach and two across the back of my neck, and I have quite a few scrapes and nicks."

I could hear the collective gasp from the class. "Yeah…" Connor said. "That's like the fifth time I've heard that, but honestly it still sounds very painful."

"Well, it is," Julia admitted. "But I'm seriously drugged right now, and I can't really feel most of it."

"Is that good?"

"Well, it's better than pain."

"I've got bad news," I said. Julia looked at me. "We're bumping your pain meds down even more before the end of the night. If you want to be out of the ICU by tomorrow, we have to get you down to a certain level. We'll put the mask on again if you need it."

Julia groaned. "That sucks, completely, and totally, and, and…" she was interrupted by a yawn. "I'm tired," she sighed.

"Well get some sleep," Connor suggested. He threw in a fake yawn. "Wow," he said. "I'm tired too. I was up all night at the hospital. There was so much going on though… I didn't really have time to think about it."

"I'm sure you are," Julia said. Only Connor and I caught the sarcasm in it.

"Yeah," Connor said. "I guess I'll see you… when I see you. I was going to come back after school, but I don't know if I'll make it that far."

"That's fine," Julia said. "I'll probably be asleep anyway…" she yawned again.

"You will be," I said. "I'm going to talk to your doctor about knocking you out for the rest of the night. You need sleep."

"Great," Julia said. "More drugs." Her head was lolling onto the pillow. She was exhausted.

"I'll see you Connor," I said. "She's going to be out for a while, I think."

"See you Bells."

About six hours later I was back at the hospital for my night shift. Julia was out cold from sleep meds, but Connor was with her. She didn't need much assistance. Edward had a call in the maternity ward tonight; Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton were having their second baby tonight. Edward was only assisting in the birth; a midwife was delivering the baby. I went up to say hello, and congratulate Jessica and Mike. Edward was filling out a chart in the back of the room when I came in. But he left to come and stand by me the second I got there. I had an amazing husband…

Julia's dad got there at two twenty six am. I brought him to Julia's room and, with the help of Connor, explained what had 'happened' and what was wrong with her. He seemed concerned, but not at all scared or over protective. I had to leave to go do some work after I gave him the basics from a medical point of view, and then I left him with Connor. They knew each other fairly well considering all the time Connor spent at Julia's.

Around four I was informed that Jessica had had a little baby boy, Aidan Timothy. I went up to the regular rooms to check the vitals of a twelve year old boy who was sick with pneumonia. It turns out that it was one of Angela Weber's twin brothers who was sick. She was sitting with him, when I came in, her mother had gone home to sleep. I had seen Angela only once since my transformation, and that was when she was giving birth to her own baby son, Aaron. He was now two, just a few months younger than Jessica's daughter, Cami. While I was refilling the boys IV pack, Angela told me she was pregnant again, and they thought it was twins.

I told her I'd see her in nine months then, hopefully. Sometimes when I saw my old friends, all grown up and having kids, it made me wonder. Where would I be if things were different? Would I be pregnant and having kids, becoming a mom? All I ever needed was one thought of Edward to get my mind back on track. He was worth every sacrifice I had ever made. And we even had our Nessie.

Edward and I signed out of the hospital at seven, and made our way home. The last time we had seen Julia she had woken up from the pain, and they had had to give her the mask again. Edward had convinced Connor to come home with us, because people were getting suspicious. At least it was Saturday so we didn't have to worry about anyone getting to school. Carlisle hadn't worked last night, but we updated him at home. He told us if Julia's pain med level s were right, she'd be sleeping in a regular room tonight. He was even expecting her out of the hospital by the end of next week. She was going to be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**Epilogue: The blaze**

"C'mon Ness!" I yelled up into the trees. Today was the day Julia was getting released from the hospital, and we were going over to a bonfire in La Push. Jake was hosting it, but it would be up on a cliff where we wouldn't bother anyone. Julia and Connor were coming late. Connor had called to tell us that she wasn't going to be released until a little bit later in the day than we had hoped.

All of the wolves were coming down. They were even bringing the kids. Nessie was sitting up in her tree while we waited for Edward to get home. He had a class tonight; he was getting super close to having his PhD. Nessie literally hung on to the top branch and let go. She hit the ground in exactly one second. "Whoo!" she said. "That was fast."

"Let's drive there faster," I suggested with a grin.

We were taking all the sports cars tonight. Mostly we were doing it because we hadn't driven them in a while and we figured not many people would see us, and they wouldn't know it was us anyways. But personally, I was taking my Ferrari to make Jacob jealous. Edward and I had a little trick up our sleeves though. You see, it was almost Jacob's twenty first birthday. The little sixteen-year-old-boy I had once known was gone.

I wanted a car of my own that I could drive around town in. I had told Edward this, and he had been very understanding. We had gone car shopping in Seattle after one of his classes last week. We had laid down a pretty big down payment on a new F-150 ford truck. And you guessed it, it was a glossy red. Edward had gone to pick it up for me. We had the cars running and were in the driveway when Edward pulled in.

Edward drove my truck into the garage, hopped out, and slid into the front seat of the Ferrari. We led the procession of cars out of the driveway. We must have been a sight; a Ferrari, a Porsche, a BMW, and a Mercedes all pulling out of the same house. I hit the gas and roared down the road to La Push. I knew the roads of La Push well, and felt every familiar bump up the mountain road. I could hear voices over the radio as I saw the first cars. There was Joel's blue pick-up and Jake's rabbit. I pulled in right next to it, and was followed by everyone else. Nessie jumped out of the back seat, and began to walk over to where the sound of happy voices and the smell of cooking hotdogs drew us over.

"Hey Ness," Jake called as we walked up. "Hi guys."

"Hey Jake," I called back. We sat down on the ground around the fire. I heard Edward snicker as he saw Seth. He had Nick and Jenny crawling all over him, laughing and shrieking as he tickled them half to death. Lying near Leah was a blanket that had four little babies laying on it. Five month old Alexis and Brandon were staring around at everyone there. Very much at the alert baby age. Little Kristen and David were sound asleep on the same blanket, and they were curled up next to each other. It was adorable.

"Leah," Seth called. "Can you please come get your child?"

Edward and I cracked up. Nick was sitting on one side of Seth's broad chest, and Jenny on the other. They were both laughing hysterically, because he couldn't get them off of him at the same time without hurting them. "Don't laugh at the weak!" Seth said dramatically.

"Then get stronger!" Edward joked.

"Come here guys," Nessie called. "I have a job for you two."

The kids hopped off of Seth immediately and ran to Nessie. They hadn't realized she was here, and they almost stepped on the babies on their way to jump into her strong arms.

"Wow," Leah said. "I don't even have to be a mom with you here Ness."

"I try," Nessie muttered.

"Ugh!" Alice groaned. She dropped her head onto Jasper's shoulder. "This is cruel and unusual torture!"

"I feel your pain," Edward said. "And by the way Emmett, that's very disturbing."

"Oops," Emmett muttered.

"So…" Emily said. "Let's… play a game. Any ideas?"

"Uh… truth or dare?" Jacob said calmly.

Emmett started laughing. "What?" Jacob asked, confused.

"It's your funeral," Emmett hinted.

"Sounds like fun," Jake said, without missing a beat.

"Okay rules," Emily said immediately. "One; there are children who listen and see _everything_! So obviously, keep it clean, or the game ends. Two; nothing dangerous. Enough said."

"One;" Emmett repeated. "My gosh, what do I look like a child abuser? Two; kid, you got a different definition of dangerous than I do."

Emily looked smug. "Then I guess I'm deciding."

"Then I guess you are," Emmett smiled.

"Oh gosh…" I moaned.

"Me first!" Emmet said. Nobody argued. Emmett looked at me and wagged his eyebrows. "Bella," he said. "Truth or dare?"

I muttered a curse word into Edward's shoulder. I could tell he was smirking. "Dare…" I moaned.

"I dare you to go into the woods and switch clothes with Edward."

"What?" Edward yelled. "You dared her, buddy, not me!"

"Then you don't have to go when it's your turn, but if you don't you both lose."

Edward cussed under his breath. "Let's go," he sighed.

"This'll be good," Edward pulled me into the woods. I started to pull my pants off. "Oh shoot," I said. "Did he mean underwear too?"

"YES!" Emmett yelled.

We both cussed. I pulled my pants off and then my underwear and handed them to Edward. He did the same to me. "Oh c'mon," I groaned. "I forgot you wore boxers."

"I forgot you wore a thong."

"EDWARD!" I screeched.

"Joking."

We continued with our shirts. He had somehow gotten my jeans on, although they were really tight. I handed him my t-shirt and bra. He cussed again. I put his (thankfully) dark blue shirt over my head. When I looked up he was still standing shirtless.

"C'mon, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I don't know how," he muttered.

"Don't know how to what?"

"Put a bra on."

There was one moment of silence. "YOU DON"T KNOW HOW TO PUT A BRA ON?" I looked at him incredulously.

"_Why_ would I know that?"

"Oh never mind!" I reached around behind him and stretched the bra over his flat chest. I threw it over his shoulders and tossed the shirt on over his head.

"Oh this should be outlawed," he murmured in my ear as we walked out of the woods.

I cracked up. No one even had time to ask me what I was laughing about. They had just seen us, and busted up laughing. I regained my composure, and walked calmly over to where we were sitting and took my seat. Edward by my side.

He waited for everyone to quiet. "Let the games begin," he said sneakily.

"Ooo scary," Jasper muttered.

"Your turn Bella," Edward said. I thought for a moment, then it hit me.

"Kyle," I said. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," he said calmly.

"Come with me," I said to him. Now he looked really scared. Apparently, he didn't know what he was getting himself into, playing games with us. I walked over away into the forest. He followed me. Our whispering had to be out of Nessie's hearing range.

I muttered the dare into his ear, and began walking out of the woods. "Hey wait!" He called. I kept walking. "I think that counts as dangerous."

"I guess we'll find out," I said mysteriously.

Edward burst into laughter as he heard what I had dared in Kyle's thoughts. I sat down next to him and giggled a little. "Shoot me now," Kyle muttered as he walked over to Nessie. She was eyeing him curiously. The kids had gone over to play with Claire; she had them laughing and singing songs. She was only five years older than them.

Kyle sat down next to Nessie. "Kyle…" she said warningly.

"Not too late to back out," I said.

"Nope," he said loudly. And without further ado, he leaned over and kissed Nessie squarely on the lips. Her eyes widened and she pushed him off her.

"Kyle!" She screeched. She drew her arm back and punched him as hard as she could.

He landed with an "Uh!" on the ground next to the fire.

Everyone was cracking up, even Jacob was laughing. Nessie looked horrified. "That _was_ dangerous," Kyle moaned. "She broke my nose."

I laughed even harder. "_What_ is _wrong_ with you?" Nessie yelled.

"I'm overly competitive."

"Obviously!"

"That's my girl," Edward said with a smirk. "Now you know why I taught you to throw a punch when you were a baby."

"Uh, yeah!" Nessie said indignantly. "That was too far for me. Sorry, but I'm out."

"One down," Emmett muttered.

"Does that mean we can change back?" I asked.

"Yep," Jacob answered. Edward and I sprinted into the woods and hurried back out to the fire.

I heard tires on the road, about seven miles down. "Here's Connor and Julia," Carlisle said.

We all decided to stop playing, at least for now. We all wanted to talk to Julia and stuff. Connor's blue Corvette came to a halt next to my Ferrari. Connor hopped out. He walked around to Julia's door as she was getting out. She looked very stiff, and had a sweatshirt on. Her shoulders were held with that awkwardness of a person with broken ribs, and she started to hobble over to us. She had a big smile on her face. "I'M FREE!" she yelled.

We all laughed. "AND IT HURTS!" she added, though she was still grinning.

Edward and I got up and made our way over to Carlisle and Esme's feet. "Thanks," Julia said. She and Connor sat down where Edward and I had just been.

"You comfortable?" Connor asked.

"Uh… sure," Julia said sarcastically. "Oh, Connor, I forgot my guitar in your car, could you go get it?"

Connor stood up. "Will you sing for us Julia?" Esme asked kindly.

Julia looked around her. Her eyes got wide. "Um… um… You know what? Why not? But I'm not promising anything."

Nobody except Connor had ever heard her sing. He was back with her guitar. He handed it to her and she opened up the case and started strumming on it. "Uh… I wrote this song. It doesn't have a name." She looked around her one more time, then just gave up and shut her eyes completely. Nobody said a word. She took a shallow breath, and started to sing.

Nobody moved. Her voice took my breath away. I could hardly focus on the lyrics. The song was about love. She was trying to put the impossible into words. Not only could she sing, but she could write songs. It was amazing. This song was the kind of song that made me want to crawl into Edward's arms and never let go. It was beautiful.

Julia gained confidence as she continued to sing. Her voice grew stronger, and she tentatively opened her eyes. I smiled right at her. She smiled back. Towards the end of the song she played a countermelody with her guitar, and sang the melody. She was _very_ talented. She finished with one last strum across the strings, and the stunned silence that followed wasn't broken for a few seconds.

"That was great Julia," I said reassuringly.

She sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"Where did you learn to sing like that?" Abbey asked.

Julia laughed. "Locked in my room with the CD player on as loud as it would go."

"That was amazing," Rosalie gushed.

"Thank-you," Julia said yet again.

"Will you play another one?" Claire asked sweetly.

Julia laughed. "If you want me too, sure."

"We do," Esme said.

"Wait a sec," I stopped them. "Jacob, your birthday's coming up, right?"

"Right…" He said. Everyone was looking at me curiously.

"Then here," Edward said. He tossed him the keys to my Ferrari.

He stared at them for a while, then said, "I don't get it."

"Look at the back of the key," I suggested. He did, and his jaw dropped in shock.

"This is your Ferrari, Bella." He said confidently.

"No," I said. "It's your Ferrari."

There was a moment of still silence. "NO WAY!" Jacob yelled. I started to laugh.

"Well if you don't want it…" I joked.

"ARE YOU _SERIOUS_?" Jacob yelled.

"As the dead," Edward said.

Jacob started laughing. "Wait," he said between laughs. "What are you going to drive?"

"A red pick-up truck." I smiled.

"Well that's very you Bella, very you."

We all sat and talked for a few more minutes about his car, my family couldn't believe I was giving it to him. He thanked us like a million times. Eventually I got tired of car talk and suggested that Julia play us another song.

As the first few notes of the new song were being played, I leaned into Edward and pulled his ear to my face. "I love you," I whispered.

"I know," he whispered back. And we laughed and sang and played deep into the night.


	11. Chapter 11

Book Three: No Regrets

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

I felt the breeze move through my hair as I ran toward the big house. Nessie was coming closer behind me, and I kicked it in into gear. Edward was way ahead of course, but I still liked to try and beat him sometimes. I heard him hit the ground on the other side of the river as I started to jump. Edward came to an abrupt halt at the house and caught my arm as I ran past, jerking me back.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said breathlessly, not that I needed the air, but he somehow managed to still take it right out of my lungs. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, gentle at first, than harder, more passionately. I kissed back without a second thought.

I heard Nessie hit the ground behind us, but didn't care enough to stop. "Whoa!" I heard her say, then I heard her slap her hand over her eyes, and shuffle blindly into the house.

I tangled my fingers in his hair and he brushed mine back with his hand. He was the first to pull away of course, always the controlled one. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," I whispered back.

"C'mon," he said. "Let's go."

It had been about a year since the accident. Or should I say, the non-accident. The Volturi had attacked Julia last March almost immediately after we had gotten the ultimatum. The ultimatum that put Julia's human years in an hour glass; slowly dwindling away. Basically, they told us kill her or change her, or they would. It was an awful position to be in, but we had no choice. Julia wasn't ready yet, and until she was, we would take whatever the Volturi threw at us. As of right now, nothing else had happened since March. We were all on our toes though, waiting for anyone to try and mess with us.

But it seemed that the Volturi weren't going to hurt us anytime soon. They seemed to have gone for the big start, then slow way down. Julia had confessed to me that she wanted the change to be right after their High School graduation. Considering that that was only about a month and a half away and she hadn't changed her mind, she was as serious as I had been.

We had officially seen every wolf from both La Push packs graduate, except for three. Lauren, Kaylie, and Wyatt were the same age as Julia and Connor. They were about to graduate as well. Saturdays were great. Edward was now officially a doctor at the Forks hospital. We now had the two doctor Cullen's, and that got pretty confusing when you talked to people. I was a nurse at the hospital, and tended to work more in the ER. So did Edward, so we got to see each other quite a bit. On Saturdays, we had the whole day off before all three of us had to be at the hospital. Believe it or not, we liked working the night-shift more than most. Edward's schedule still bounced around a lot, because he was the newest and youngest of the three doctors. But that's alright; we could always count on all three of us working Saturday night.

As we walked into the house, I saw everybody doing different things. Nessie was sitting at Edward's piano, just staring at it, probably trying to write a new song. She was so much like her father. Rosalie and Alice were on the computer, and Emmett and Jasper were watching a rerun of a baseball game from last night. Carlisle was nowhere to be seen, and Esme was reading a book by the window. Connor was at Julia's I was sure, and that was fine with me.

Just as I was about to ask what everyone wanted to do today, the phone rang. I picked it up off of the hook. "Hello?"

"Hey Bells," I recognized Jake's voice. "What're you guys doing today?"

"Well you know, it's Saturday, so nothing until work tonight. Why? You need something?"

"Well…" He started. "It's just a favor I have to ask. We're trying to advance our speed, and strength. We need some help pushing each other. You guys willing?"

"Uh… hold on." I asked everyone around the room, and everyone wanted to come of course. Carlisle had opted not too though, and Esme decided to stay back with him. "Yeah Jake, we'll be there." I told him. "When do you want us?"

"As soon as possible."

"See you in thirty seconds."

And off we went. Carlisle told us he would tell Connor where we went if he showed up around here today, and Esme settled down with her book again. We ran as fast as we could through the woods, Edward in the lead, Nessie tagging along, until we reached La Push. We skidded to a halt in front of Jake's house where everyone was in the driveway. They had no idea what we meant by pushing it.

"Well let's go," Emmett said, as if we had been waiting for them for hours. We took off back into the woods. We weren't going as fast we would normally. I mean, we had to actually _help_ them today. Jacob and Leah were in the lead of course. Joel and Sam weren't far behind. The other guys bounced back and forth between who was in the lead, but Brooke, Lauren, and Kaylie weren't going to let these guys show them how to run. Even though they were more than a foot shorter than most of the guys, they kept up well. After we ran for almost an hour and a half, we made them do so many push-ups I lost count. Once _they_ counted that _they _were at two hundred though, it was two hundred sit ups and two hundred pull ups after that. We did these with them, and pushed them harder. Nessie was working almost as hard as them, but her vampire genes were making her enjoy them. After the work-out, we ran for a bit more, but had to stop around two so they could rest. We were killing them, but I was having fun.

They stood outside Jake's house with water in their hands, too tired to talk, but still snorting and smiling at each other. I looked at Brooke, and she was standing by Embry of course. Her wedding ring was off, but she probably knew we were getting down and dirty today. They had been married in February, it was a beautiful wedding. Something was going on with Leah. She was standing away from everyone, and she was bent over, clutching her sides. Joel noticed first.

"Leah," he said. "Leah, are you okay?"

I watched Leah carefully. She was crying. She let Joel wrap his arms around her.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

She let out a small sob. "I- Joel, I did something stupid."

He let her go on. I held my breath. "Joel…" she took a deep breath. Edward put his face in his hands and said a swear word. "I'm… I'm pregnant again."

Joel froze and stiffened slightly. "You… you're pregnant again?"

Leah sobbed again. "Yeah… yeah and I just did that. Joel I was so stupid!" She was very angry at herself.

Oh boy. This wasn't good. This would be her first trimester, (I think) and what we just did could have put some stress on the baby. Of course, there was a pretty good chance that the baby was fine, it's not like you couldn't do a little exercise when you were pregnant. But then again, there was also a chance that there was damage to the baby. I didn't know how far along she was, but the farther, the worse. I needed some information.

Joel looked very shaken up. He was probably terrified. This would be their third child. He knew as well as she did what _could_ happen. Leah was still crying. Joel wasn't talking, but he was stroking her arm comfortingly.

Everyone was still, but Edward had his hands covering his face still, thinking. "Leah?" I asked calmly. She looked up. "Sit down, and _breathe_," I said slowly. "Everything is going to be fine." She sunk to the ground, and took a deep breath. Joel sat down next to her.

I sat down across from them. "When did you find out you were pregnant, Leah?" Leah wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Um," she said. "Around midnight last night, but I've been suspicious since early yesterday."

"That's good," Edward said. He came over and sat by me. "You can't be more than, like, a week pregnant then."

"Why is that good?" Joel asked.

"The baby won't be developed enough to have strain on him or her. At least not enough strain to permanently damage," I said.

"Oh thank god," Joel sighed. He dropped his head in his hands.

Leah sighed too. "I don't know what I was thinking… I just… I didn't think, I just acted."

"Now's as good as time as any…" Brooke muttered. Everyone looked at her. What was she talking about? Edward guffawed. "I… might be pregnant too."

Oh. That's what she was talking about. Embry choked on the water he had been drinking. Jacob started snickering. "W- What?" Embry stuttered.

"Pregnant, Embry," Brooked said calmly. "Baby."

"Are you serious?" He muttered.

"Yes, I am." She started to smile.

"What if I don't know how to be a dad?"

Joel, Sam, Jared, Paul, Lauren, Kaylie, Leah, and Edward all started cracking up. It _was _pretty funny. "You've got nine months to figure it out man," Sam choked between laughs.

"But you're forgetting," Edward said much more calmly. "You get to be daddy, before you're dad. There's a big difference."

Nessie ran up behind him. She crawled under his arm and leaned against him. She was almost my size now, 5' 2''-and-a -half. "I have a problem." She stated clearly.

"And what is that?"

"I need a daddy and a dad at the same time and you are never going to know which one it is." She smirked at him.

Edward thought for a moment, pondering what she said. "You make my job hard," he said a moment later, and he smirked his identical smirk right back at her.

"Emily's pregnant too," Sam blurted out. I looked at him.

"I know," Leah said.

Sam looked confused. "Wait, how'd you know, she just took the test this morning."

"Because Sam," Leah said, as if the answer was obvious. "If I was pregnant, and Emily wasn't, the world would stop spinning." A few people laughed. She had a point though.

"Rachel's pregnant too," Paul said.

"So is Kim," Jared announced.

It was silent for a moment. Then everyone started laughing. "Ok!" Emmett yelled over the roaring laughter. "If anyone else is pregnant, just say it now!" A few people laughed even harder.

"Oh shoot," I said as everyone calmed down. A thought had just hit me. "What are the odds that all five of them are going to have the baby at the same time?"

Edward thought for another moment. "Oh shoot," He repeated me. "Well, I have two hands…"

A few people chortled. "Oh I can see it now…" Leah said.

"Okay then…" Edward said about five minutes later. "We should probably do ultrasounds… you know what just follow me home, we have work at seven, so we need to be done by then."

"You got it," Leah said.

"You know what," Jacob said. "Let's just cut it short. Leah and Brooke are done for the day anyhow."

There was a chorus of agreement. "I'm going home!" Wyatt said, standing up. "And I'm sleeping until someone wakes me up!"

A few of the younger guys snickered. "And if I'm allowed I'm staying here," Nessie announced.

"You're allowed," I said.

"Feel free, but I have patrol," Jacob told her.

Nessie gave him an evil grin. "Then you'll just have to try and keep up."

And off they ran. Nessie sprinting through the trees, and Jacob dashing madly after her. Edward and I set off for home along with everyone else. Edward was holding my hand, pulling me faster. We got home first, and Edward went up to tell Carlisle what had happened. I checked my watch; it was about four thirty. I heard Emmett and Rose tell Alice and Jasper they were going hunting. Alice came in a few minutes later, and told me she and Jasper were going for a drive; she was getting a head ache. Esme had finished her book, and was now working on a house she was renovating in Seattle. She went up to her and Carlisle's bedroom though, so as not to disturb us with her talking on the phone.

Edward came back down, and we went to wait on the couch. We could still just be in a room with each other, doing nothing but talking, and not get bored. It wasn't long though before we heard Joel's truck leading the way onto the drive. Sam's car was right behind it. From the smell of it, they had carpooled.

They were talking a little as they got out of the car, laughing at the irony of the situation. Joel went to knock on the door, but I called, "Its open!" Before he had the chance. We got up to meet them at the door, as they were opening it.

"Hey," Leah said.

"Hi," I said. I looked over all of the people at the door. "Wow there _are_ a lot of you. I guess we should just get started right away." I sighed. "We need more ultrasounds."

Jared snickered. "Well if we didn't all get pregnant at the same time that wouldn't be a problem!" He smiled at me.

"That's it!" I said. "It's all your fault! Planning skills guys, planning skills." They all laughed.

"Well come in, come in," Edward said. "Don't you know not to stand out in the rain?" We all looked around for a second; it wasn't raining. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, drops started to fall on them. Edward tapped his temple. "Alice told me."

There were a few more snickers, but they all made their way into the house. We led the way up the stairs. Carlisle was still in his office when we went up, but the door was open. We walked on in.

"Hi," Carlisle said plainly as we walked in. He stood up. "Well then, congratulations guys." He scanned over the large number filing in behind us. "Wow, that's a lot of people. Just one problem; I don't know what we're going to do if you guys go into labor at the same time. We'd need a place for it to happen to begin with, and then there's the whole issue of people who can actually deliver the babies."

We were all silent for a second, thinking about it. "I… have an idea," I said. Everyone looked at me. I shrunk back a little. "Well… we could take volunteers… people who won't freak out when a needle won't go into your arm." I gestured toward Brooke and Leah.

Edward came back with options immediately. "How about your mom Leah?"

"She'd be… interested. Although she might lose it when the baby is actually born."

I laughed. "That's ok someone always looses it in the delivery room…" I gestured at Edward.

"Hey," he said defensively. "She started yelling at me! I'm sorry that I yelled back!" He was referring to a delivery at the hospital a few months ago.

"Her husband was going to punch you," I reminded him.

"Yeah, and that wouldn't have gone good for either of us."

"Not one of our best deliveries," I muttered.

"Yeah but the baby was good for the nursery people."

"Point taken."

"Can we please focus?" Carlisle said gently.

"Right, sorry," I said. "Anyhow, back to volunteers. Who else would want to do it? We need five as the minimum, but we could obviously use as many as possible."

"Who else…." Edward trailed off. There was a moment of silence. "Rosalie," Edward blurted out.

"Of course," Carlisle agreed. "I'm sure she'd be willing, that is… if you are all ok with it."

There was a murmur of quick agreement. "Well that's five," I said. "But is there anyone, anyone else who would want to help?"

"Esme might be interested," Edward suggested.

I nodded at him. "Anyone else?"

"Um," Brooke said. We all looked at her. "I… think… Abbey might be interested. She's looking into doing something with child birth when she's out of college."

"Well…" Edward started. "She's only… what? Eighteen? Is an eighteen-year-old who's never had kids really ready for that?"

We all lapsed into silence again. "You have to remember," I said. "I was eighteen when I had Nessie. I am living… sort of," I smiled "… proof of what an eighteen-year-old can really do. She's not actually going to deliver the babies; she's just going to help out. I think we should give her a shot if she wants."

Edward was obviously concerned for the girl. "I'm open to the idea," he admitted.

"You know what," Carlisle said. "Let's just worry about this later. We have nine months after all. Why don't we move on to the ultrasounds? Who wants to go first?"

"Me," Emily said.

"Go for it."

Emily walked over to the table and hopped onto it. She stretched her feet out onto it and leaned back. Carlisle cranked on the machine, and Edward got the clipboard that we kept track of things on. I walked across the room and dug through a box until I found the ultrasound gel. I walked back over to Emily and lifted her shirt just a little. I squeezed a blob of it onto her abdomen.

"Oh!" She gasped. "That's really cold!"

"Sorry," I apologized.

The machine buzzed to life. "Ok…" Carlisle said. He picked up the ultrasound head. "Time to find the baby." He began to roll the head over her stomach. I watched the screen for some sign of a baby. It would only be the size of a pinprick, but with our defined eyes, we could find it.

"Right there," I said, pointing to the screen.

"I see," said Carlisle. "You're carrying your baby pretty high up. That's probably because you had just got pregnant about twenty-one months ago. Your body is putting the baby in a different position so one part of your body isn't consistently strained. You're due in February. Any questions?"

"Uh…. Nope." I gave Emily a towel and she wiped the gel off as she hopped off the table.

"Me next," said Kim. And so it continued. Kim was carrying her baby almost perfectly centered, and Leah was carrying hers higher. Rachel was carrying hers lower. Brooke went last.

"Hmmm," Carlisle said. "Ah-hah. Dead center of the womb."

Brooke gasped slightly. "It's so tiny."

I laughed. "Yeah, but in about twelve weeks it'll be big enough to kick you and then you'll wish it was small again."

She clicked her tongue. "Thanks for the warning."

"Yep."

"Now," Carlisle said. "About where we're going to deliver the babies. I was thinking… If it's alright with you… we could have the babies here."

Everyone looked around at each other. There was a moment of thoughtful silence. "Ok," Emily said cheerfully. Everyone else agreed as well.

"Well then," Carlisle said with a sigh. "You know the rules. Take it easy, don't be stupid."

We were at the hospital about three hours later. Edward was making his way through the ICU in the hospital. Carlisle was off somewhere doing something that the guy in charge does. I was in the process of wiping down the rooms with wet wipes. Hospitals are constantly cleaning, to make it healthier.

The rest of my week was pretty normal. Edward and I had to work only a few days that week, so we spent a lot of time at home. For the first time, possibly ever, Edward didn't know how to help Nessie with her homework. Nessie rarely needed help on any of her homework, but when she did Edward was always able to teach her a quick and easy way of doing things. But on this particular piece of homework, they were teaching something brand new to the kids. It was some way of doing math that neither Edward, nor I could figure out. Eventually, all ten of us, including Connor and Julia, we crowded around the table trying to figure out how the heck we were supposed to do this math problem. Then Carlisle walked in the room, and said, "Oh ok, you do it like this." Then he grabbed the sheet of paper and did the equation in about six lines.

We all started laughing then because it was a really simple way of doing things; we had just been thinking way too hard about it. Edward and I were laughing about it that night when Nessie was asleep.

"Sometimes I wonder," I told Edward.

"Wonder about what?" He murmured.

I sighed. "Wonder if sometimes we spend our whole lives just over thinking things, making things harder on ourselves. You know what they say; you'll know the most wisdom if you look at the world through a child's eyes."

He leaned his head onto mine. "Bella," he said. "Sweetheart, I don't care how hard we make life, or how hard life really is. Because as far as I'm concerned, my life has been nothing but easy since you stumbled into it. And I mean that in a literal sense." He chuckled.

"Hey," I said, hitting him playfully. I sighed. "Oh Edward we were never supposed to fall in love were we?" He was silent. "Neither were Connor and Julia."

We were quiet a moment, thinking, remembering. "They don't care," he said. "Just like we didn't." He paused for a second. "Love makes you do some crazy things Bella, and I promise, I only regret one of them."

I knew what he was talking about of course. One of the worst times in my life, the time without Edward. I never held it against him, but of course it had still hurt. I leaned my head up and kissed him. I tangled my fingers in his hair and pressed my body to his. He let me push him back onto the couch; I was in control right now. He deepened the kiss, and I fell into the hypnotic power he had over me. I pulled away, gasping for unneeded breath.

"Regrets aren't good," I whispered. "So let's just forget about them, for the rest of forever."

We had to go over to La Push on Thursday to help Lauren, Kaylie, and Wyatt with some school work they had fallen behind on. They were still missing school for one wolf thing or another, and they still had to graduate. I realized that this could be the last time we ever had to do this, because they were the last ones to finish school. We had gotten good at working with each other over the past three-and-a-half years, and we were pretty productive.

Before I knew it, it was Saturday again and Edward, Carlisle, and I had work that night. My night in the hospital was pretty normal. Nobody came in with emergencies, but I still had other patients to tend to. We left the hospital at about seven. We got home to find Julia already there with Connor. Nessie was still at our house, sleeping probably.

"Hey," I said. "What're you doing here?" I looked at Julia.

"We ran at five, and I haven't got around to getting up yet."

"Alright then," I said.

Edward and I headed out the back door toward our house. I wanted to get out of my work clothes. We all had a lazy day around the house. Julia was there for the whole day. Around seven though, Connor told her he had to go hunt.

Julia was perfectly fine with this kind of thing. Nessie was going back over to La Push for a while, and she invited Julia to come with her. Julia agreed, and left just a few minutes after Connor did.

Edward and I went back to our house and watched a movie. Although I'm not really sure what it was about…

We went back to the big house at about nine, and played around on the computer with Emmett and Rosalie. Alice and Jasper had decided to go out hunting with Connor, if they could find him. He was probably halfway to California by now…

That's when it happened. It started out when I heard Alice running back, alone. She was yelling before I even had time to think as to why she was alone. "CARLISLE!" she yelled. "HELP!"

We were out the door in an instant. We nearly crashed into each other as we ran to meet her. "Alice, what's going on?" Emmett asked quickly.

"Connor's hurt." And that's all we needed to get ourselves running again. A hurt vampire was a rarity. We only ran for three minutes or so, but it seemed much longer. I heard him before I saw him. He was moaning and gasping. Jasper was there, quietly trying to soothe him. That's all I took in before we came upon him.

He was on the ground. His shirt looked to have been torn off. I scanned down his body. What I saw made my insides quiver and shake. His torso was covered in vampire bites. His arms were thoroughly bitten as well, but were nothing compared to what his stomach looked like.

I could barely distinguish the separate bites. His whole abdomen was covered in what looked like shredded steel. It was his skin. Torn back and ripped, it was trying to heal itself. His face was in a severe grimace, and he looked to be in agony. Someone had done this. Someone…named the Volturi.

Carlisle dropped to his knees by Connor and we all followed instinctively. Carlisle went into his leader mode in a second. "Emmett get his arms, Jasper get his legs, Esme hold his neck still." The realization dawned on me; they were holding him down. Holding him down so he couldn't attack us. Everyone else joined around to help.

"J- J- Julia…" Connor stammered.

I ran my hand over his forehead and through his hair. "Julia's fine," I assured him.

His eyes were only half open, but he nodded his head. He couldn't move at all now, and I'm sure he was feeling very vulnerable.

"Got him?" Carlisle asked. They all assured him they did.

Then Carlisle went to work. He had barely touched Connor when Connor started yelling and trying to fight him off. But we held him still in our firm grips. Carlisle was trying to count the bites, to see how much venom was in his system. He worked fast, but not fast enough for it not to hurt. "Thirty four," was all he told us when he finished counting. We all took in a collective gasp. One vampire bite hurt, but thirty-four of them? That had to be almost as bad as being changed.

"How can we help him?" Edward asked.

We had let go of Connor now, and his chest was heaving as he moaned in agony. "I… I don't know." Carlisle said. "When they did this, it wasn't to kill him. It was to torture him." We all knew who the 'they' he was talking about was.

Esme shuddered a little, and I'm sure if she could cry, it would be now. "We need to get him home," Carlisle said. "He needs to be comfortable at the very least."

"I'll bring him," Edward volunteered.

"Gently now, Edward," Carlisle reminded him. Edward scooped him up into his arms, and we all ran off back toward the house. Once we got in, we were more in our element.

"My office, Edward," Carlisle instructed. "Bella, get Nessie over here. Tell the wolves to run border. Make sure she brings Julia," he added. I nodded, and grabbed the phone. I had to do the hard job first. Calling Julia.

She answered her cell phone on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Julia," I started. "Julia, you and Nessie need to come here now. Julia… there's been another warning from the Volturi."

"No," she gasped. "Not Connor, Bella. Please not Connor!" She was quietly panicking.

"Julia," I said. "You can't panic now, it's not an option. Connor needs you right now. Tell Jake to have everyone running the border. Come quick."

She didn't even pause before saying, "Be there in a second."

I hung up with her and moved up to Carlisle's office where everyone else was. "They're coming," I announced. Carlisle nodded.

Connor's skin was mending at an impeccable rate, but the venom that flowed through his veins was still a great amount. Connor was lying on the very table I had given birth to Nessie on.

Connor's eyes were partially open again. "J-Julia…" he asked again.

"She's coming Connor, just hold on buddy," I told him.

His chest was heaving again. We were all silent for a moment. "There has to be something we can do…." Alice said.

"Just let it run its course," Jasper said quietly. "Don't leave him alone."

We were all quiet again. The only sound was Connor's gasps and moans, until we heard feet pounding up through the woods. Nessie was running flat out to get here as fast as she could. She burst through the back door, and ran herself and Julia up the steps. She set her down just outside the door, and walked in first.

She came and stood by me, in the far corner of the room. Julia entered slowly. She couldn't see Connor from the door, and she searched the room for him. In the once second that she saw his body, broken and agonized, I felt the connection between me and Julia. The connection to feel so weak and powerless, but all the same; like it was your fault. She raised a shaking hand to her mouth to cover her small sob. She crossed the room in eight quick steps, and stopped by Connor's head. She fell to her knees by his face, and laid her own head by his. She had tears streaming down her face, but she seemed to know what she wanted to do.

She lifted her arm and ran her hand through his hair, slowly and repetitively. Then, in her exquisite voice, she began to sing to him. It wasn't a song I had ever heard her sing before, but it sounded like she had written it specifically for him. She sung through the whole song, until his chest stopped heaving, and his moans were silenced.

Then, in a hoarse, strained whisper, Connor muttered, "Don't cry over me Julia. I'm not worth that much."

She gave a half laugh, half sob and said, "Connor, you're worth more than the whole world to me, no matter what anyone else says."

He, very slowly, stretched his arm out and put it around her. She leaned into him. "I'm so sorry," she said.

He didn't seem very able to talk at the moment, but couldn't resist his curiosity. "For what?" he gasped.

She seemed to ponder that question. "Oh never mind. I give up. Whatever I apologize for you'll just tell me it's not my fault and then find a way to blame it on yourself." She smiled at him tearfully.

"Probably…" he breathed.

Julia still had tears running from her eyes. Connor tilted his head toward us. "Warning two," he said, just loud enough for us to hear. I closed my eyes. Of course it was warning two. Of course the Volturi hadn't given up yet, they hadn't gotten what they wanted. Just like all bullies, they had lurked in the shadows. Waiting for Connor to come out alone and attack at the time that we least expected. Connor was hurt, badly. Not unrecoverably, but still, badly. What if that had been Edward? I shuddered at the thought. What if it had been Nessie? What if it would have been my baby? Then what? There was a whole list of things that could happen, a whole list of things that could go wrong. A whole bunch of people that the Volturi could hurt.

But I could remember. I could remember being in Julia's position. I could remember the sword dangling over my head, very clearly. I could remember the feeling that I was the one who had put my family in danger. I was the one who had the power to stop it all, or keep it going longer just so I could have more human moments. To know where I wanted to be in the end, and be ready for it to happen, but not wanting to let it go.

So of course, I couldn't blame Julia. At all or ever, for wanting to wait. It was a hard position to be in, between a rock and a hard place. I scooted closer to Edward and he wrapped his arm around me. I put both my arms around his waist. "No regrets," I whispered in his ear.

He barely nodded his head. I cocked my head toward the door, and he led the way out, pulling me by the hand. I gave Nessie a very pointed look as I walked past. She looked confused for a second, then jumped a little and realized that we were giving them privacy. She followed us out of the room. We were silent as we walked down the stairs, but I knew that the others were behind me.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

We walked all the way into the kitchen. We sat down around the table, all except Nessie; she was hanging back a little. I didn't even notice until I saw that her usual chair was empty. I heard Julia start singing again, and I looked over at Ness. She was looking rather… I'm not really sure what emotion was on her face. Jasper did, and Edward obviously did, but I didn't recognize this. Her face was somewhere between fear, discomfort, and I was pretty sure a little sadness.

"Nessie?" I said.

She shrunk back a little. "I… I don't want to t-talk about this mom."

I looked at Edward for the briefest of seconds. His expression was slightly shocked, and a bit confused. "Well," I said. "Um, that's okay baby, you don't have to if you don't want to." Now I saw the sadness clearly in her expression.

She nodded her head as she walked past us through the door. I saw her tears as she ran out. I put my head in my hands for a second. I thought I was going to start crying for a second, but held myself together. "Can somebody please tell me _what_ that _was_?"

I looked up. "Hormones," Jasper said.

"Oh my gosh Jasper, C'mon I'm being serious here!" I heard a slight whine in my voice.

"Sorry Bella," he said right back. "That's what I got! I don't understand teenage girls anymore than I understand how the earth was formed!" Now he was the one whining slightly.

"She's…" Edward trailed off. "Very confused. She… is worried and doesn't understand what's going on or what's going to happen. She is wondering about… about us before we had her. She's even feeling guilty over choices _we_ made. And hormones." He added with a shrug.

I sighed. "I forgot how much it sucks to be a teenager. A teenage girl at that." I looked at Edward. "Ugh, seventeen is the worst."

He smirked. "Hey, c'mon now we met when we were seventeen. Or at least you were. Was I really that bad?"

"You weren't," I said. "You were the best part of seventeen, honey. No questions there."

He clicked his tongue. "Yeah well, I'm still seventeen, and you're still the best part of it. Trust me, seventeen forever looked pretty bad until I met you."

I groaned. "I don't know how to help them Edward."

He sighed. "Neither do I. We were in so over our heads when we went through that. I don't think we ever had a plan other than to make it up as we went along. But…" he sighed again. "Julia has a decision to make."

"Everyone has the right to choose," Rosalie spoke up.

It was quiet for a moment. "It's the hardest thing to explain," I told them. "But Julia's already made her decision. It's just _so_ hard. You know what's coming, and the anticipation for what that is almost worse than when it actually gets there. You want it more than anything you've ever wanted," I sighed. "I know where Julia is right now. She knows that she wants to be a vampire. She just doesn't know if she's ready yet."

Nobody was talking. Nobody seemed to know what to think. So once again, I spoke up. "We can wait. As long or as short as she wants, we're going to wait. I don't think there's anything to discuss."

"I agree," Carlisle said.

"Yeah," said Alice. Everyone else muttered there agreement. But there was one silent voice, the only voice that mattered to me.

I wasn't the only one who had noticed. Everyone was looking at Edward. "Edward?" I said.

He didn't look up. "Edward, look at me and tell me what you're thinking," I told him. He lifted his gaze to mine.

"I'm thinking that I'm pretty selfish."

I ran my fingers through my long hair slowly. "Will you tell me why that is?"

His golden eyes burned into mine. "Because I don't want to wait for the next thing to happen. I don't want to wait to stumble upon Nessie one day when she's half-dead. I don't want to walk up on a pile of ashes that could be you. I love Connor, and I love Julia. But I have my priorities."

He didn't break my gaze. Of course Edward felt this way. Always looking out for me, always ready to kill for our daughter. It was never about him, but I'm sure he felt that way. "Edward," I said calmly. "Almost six years ago to the day, you were put in the position that Connor is in right now. And Julia was in the position of me. Edward, you're not selfish just because you're scared half to death. We're all scared. Do you realize how easily that could have been our daughter out there today?" He cringed. "Edward, I know you, and I know that you would never want to make somebody take this life that you despise. You want Julia to have a choice just like the rest of us do. You're just the only one who would speak up about everyone's thoughts."

He gave me a sad smile. "Will you worry with me?" he asked.

"Twenty-four hours a day," I told him. I gave him the same sad smile back.

He sighed. There was a moment of total silence. "We should go talk to her."

I sighed. I knew the 'her' he was referring to was Nessie. "Yeah, probably."

We pushed back our chairs at the same time. "So now what?" Emmett said a little bit louder.

I looked at him. "We wait, and worry."

He nodded slowly. "Sounds fun!" He said sarcastically. I smiled at him. Only Emmett could make a completely awful situation into something to smile at.

"It'll be a blast," Edward said just as sarcastically.

Edward grabbed my hand and he pulled me out the back door. Out in the fresh air, I could smell Nessie in the rain that was blowing in. Edward and I started running toward her. He was pulling me along faster than I normally would have gone, but I didn't mind it. We came upon her pretty far out into the woods. I could hear many of the wolves running around the perimeter of Forks, and La Push, and I'm sure they knew she was there, but they were leaving her be.

Nessie had her legs curled up to her chest, and her arms wrapped around her knees. She had her face resting on her knees, with her eyes to the ground. I didn't hear her crying, but she was pretty good at being quiet when she was tearful. "Hey," Edward said softly. He dropped my hand and he started to walk toward her. I followed. "What's this now? Sh, honey, don't cry, it's okay."

She had taken a breath and it was shaky with tears. He gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She slumped into him. "I'm so scared dad!" she sobbed. I sat on the other side of her, and felt her warm body up next to mine. She was only about an inch shorter than me now. We figured she would grow maybe another half-inch before she stopped growing. She was shaking, either out of fear, or crying; I wasn't sure. Maybe both.

"No, Nessie, please honey, don't be scared…" Edward was rubbing her shoulder slowly.

"I don't want it to be you next time daddy," she said. "Or you." She gestured to me. "I don't want people getting hurt anymore!" She sobbed again.

"It's okay honey, neither do we." I rubbed her back.

She took a quick, shaky breath. "I'm not little anymore!" she said. "I know who the Volturi are, because I remember! And I know that they will kill you, or you, or me, or any of us! And don't say that they won't daddy, because I know that they will! I know what they do…" she was cut off by another round of sobs.

Edward just let her cry. I'm sure he didn't know quite what to say to this. She was right on course. He just continued to rub her shoulder, and I her back. She was shaking horribly now, and I thought we should probably get her out of this rain. She hadn't cried like this since… I don't think she'd ever cried like this. But before I could suggest we move indoors, Nessie went limp in Edward's arms.

We reacted in the next second. "Nessie!" Edward said. He flipped her onto her back and onto the wet ground. I ran her wet hair back off her forehead. Her temperature felt normal, and I could hear her heart beating at its normal pace.

"She fainted," I said, somewhat in shock.

"Yeah," he said, slightly breathless. "C'mon. Let's get her to the big house."

He scooped her up into his arms, leaning her head on his chest. He held her close, and we took off at a run. I had no problem keeping up with him now that he had Nessie's extra weight to carry. I actually got to the house first. I burst through the back door. Everyone had now scattered into the large living room. They came to see why we were bustling in so loudly. Esme got there first. "Oh my…" was all she had time to say before the others saw us.

"What happened?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Where did you find her?"

"Is she okay?"

"Sh!" Carlisle said. "Edward, bring her in here, c'mon."

We all shifted into the living room. Edward went to lay Nessie out on the couch. He didn't even seem to notice the mud he got on it. Not like it really mattered at the moment…

"She fainted," I repeated for the second time that night.

"She can do that?" Alice asked.

"Apparently," I said.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked. "Before she fainted?"

Edward spoke up. "She was really upset. She was literally terrified. She was crying, and she started shaking. And then… then she just went limp… I didn't know what to do…" he trailed off.

Carlisle seemed to be in thought. "_I_ don't know what to do," he admitted quietly after a moment of silence. I closed my eyes. If Carlisle didn't know what to do…

"I think," he said a minute later. "That it would be best just to wait and let her wake up on her own accord. Although you say she was scared… so we should probably try and make sure she's comfortable when she wakes up, make sure she's calm."

"I can do that," Jasper said.

"Right," Carlisle said. "But you can't make her so calm she falls asleep alright? She should probably get some sustenance in her…"

We all looked around. He obviously meant blood. But giving her human blood wouldn't be good for her. Once you taste it, it's hard to go back to the other stuff.

"That could work, Emmett," Edward said suddenly.

"You know what," Emmett said. "I'm just going to go for it. See you in a bit."

He sprinted out the back door. I saw him grab something out of a cupboard in the kitchen as he ran by. I could hear Julia upstairs still. I'm sure she and Connor were listening to every word they could.

"What is he going to do?" Carlisle asked.

"Well," Edward said. "Something crazy. He's going to try and get animal blood into a cup for her to drink out of. I didn't catch all the details, but I'm sure we'll find out if it works."

We all listened quietly for a few minutes. I could hear Emmett running through the trees. I knew he had started to chase when his footsteps became faster. The next second I hear a dull thud, and very distantly, almost unintelligible, I heard the thick dripping of blood, falling more slowly than the rain.

The next minute, Emmett was running back toward the house. "Got it," he said triumphantly as he came through the door.

He was holding up a silver cup. From the smell of it, it was a deer he had captured. "How did you _do_ _that_?" Rosalie asked, astonished.

"Um," Emmett said. "I caught the deer, killed it, ripped it open, and squeezed its blood into this cup." He said this as if people did this every day.

We were all staring at him. "Emmett," Rosalie said. "How in the world did you think to do that?"

"Hey I thought it was pretty simple," Emmett said plainly.

"Wow Emmett," Jasper said. "Only your brain would brainstorm with its self until it reached that idea."

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

Edward pulled Nessie's shoes off of her feet and went to set them by the door. Her clothes were still wet from the rain, but she was always so warm she probably wouldn't even notice. I brushed her hair back off of her face and laid it over the edge of the couch. Her face looked worried, even in unconsciousness. She stirred a little. She rolled her head over once, and then back again the other way. She seemed to be waking up.

But then she started talking. "No…" she muttered. "No stop…" I looked at Edward. He was watching her very carefully. She was having a nightmare. "No!" She said a little more loudly. "Leave me alone!" She started thrashing around. "Please! Don't hurt them!" She was screaming now.

"Nessie," Edward said a bit loudly. He touched her arm. She was usually a light sleeper, so of course this woke her up.

Her eyes flew open. "NO!" she screamed at him. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

She started thrashing against his grip on her arm. "STOP IT!" she yelled. She started kicking her legs and swinging her arms. I moved to push them back down. She thrashed at me too. "Nessie!" I said. She continued to thrash and yell at me.

"NESSIE!" Edward said loudly, but calmly. She turned her gaze at him. She stopped yelling, but continued to fight at us. "Nessie!" He said more quietly. He put his hand on her neck so she would be forced to keep her gaze on him. "Nessie, stop it! Stop it! Look at me honey, it's me! It's daddy!" At these words I watched as her eyes came into focus on his face, and she stopped fighting me. Her arms dropped to her sides.

"Daddy…" she muttered.

I knelt down next to Edward by her face. "Honey what's wrong?" I asked her. "What happened?"

The tears started streaming down her face silently. "I… I," she took a deep, shuddering breath. "That was an awful nightmare." I could feel the effect Jasper was having on her. I was suddenly very calm, and not at all panicky.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Edward asked her quietly.

"No, no," she shook her head quickly. She looked around her. "Is… is everything okay? I mean, kind of?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I said. "Yeah everything is kind of okay."

She sighed. "Okay." She looked around her once more. She covered her face with her hands. "I would be scared, but Jasper's not letting me."

"It's okay to be scared," I told her. "But I promise honey, nobody is going to ever let anything happen to you. Especially not me."

She shook her head. "I believe you, but trust me; I'm not worried about me." She sighed again. She sniffed, and scrunched up her nose a little. "Why do I smell deer blood?"

"Because Emmett's a genius," Emmett said.

She looked at him. He held up the cup. "Want some?" He asked.

She gave him a look that clearly said, 'you're a little strange'. "Uh, yeah," she shook her head. "But you know what; spare me the details of how you got it."

"'Kay," he said. He walked over to us and handed her the cup. She started drinking it, slowly. I thought back about six years. I had once laid on this very couch, drinking blood for her. Hoping, praying that one day she would be able to do it herself, and that I would be able to watch.

I guess my prayers had been answered. I turned to Edward. "We should probably call Julia's dad," I suggested.

He shook his head. "No," he said. "He's away on business right now. He would call her on her cell phone if he needed anything."

Just then, Edward's cell phone rang. He answered it on the first ring. Who would be calling here this late? It was nearing midnight.

"Hello?" Edward said. I heard a slightly panicked voice on the other end of the phone. It was Emily.

"Something's wrong with Jenny," she told Edward. "She's having trouble breathing; I think she's going to pass out." I could hear Emily laboring to keep her voice this calm.

"Call 911," Edward said immediately. "We're coming as fast as we can."

"Okay," Emily said. "Oh, and can one of you please go find Sam? I have no idea where he is…" She was starting to panic. I could hear Brandon crying in the background. Then they hung up the phone with each other.

We jumped to our feet. "Nessie stay here, don't leave the house." Edward told her.

"I'll go find Sam," I said. "I'll meet you either at their house, or the hospital."

Edward and Carlisle took off out the front door while I went out the back. I paused for only a second to get a whiff of the wolves. They were spread out around La Push and Forks, but Sam was near the northern La Push border. Furthest from where our house was of course. But at least he was close to home.

I started sprinting through the trees. I passed most of both the packs, running back and forth around their assigned part of the town limits. I got to Sam in about a minute. He of course had taken a bigger section of the border, being the Alpha. Always the hardest on himself. "Sam!" I called. He turned his big head toward me.

"Sam," I said as I got to him. "Something's wrong with Jenny, she can barely breathe."

It took him one second to react. I saw Kaylie start running his part of the border, along with hers which was next to his. Everyone in both packs knew what was going on now. He must have told her to in his head. He was gone in the next second. I saw a shake in the trees as he changed back into human form, and I heard his feet hitting the ground as he ran toward his house. I was quick to pass him up. If they needed help, I needed to be there. I saw the first houses of La Push and ran behind them until I got to their street. There I had to slow to a walk to go up to the door. It had been left unlocked, and I let myself in.

The first thing I saw was Edward's back. He was leaning over Jenny, with Carlisle on the other side of him. They were looking down her throat.

"It's pretty swollen," Edward was muttering. Brandon was in Emily's arms now, sleeping. She was sitting in a chair near Jenny.

I took one look at Jenny and I knew what was wrong with her. Her face was very red, almost blue, and her hands were swollen. She had her arm wrapped around her stomach. She was conscious, but barely. What I could see of her eyes was terrified. Her chest was moving feebly up and down with each labored breath she took.

"Sam's coming," I told Emily. She nodded her head.

I moved over to where Edward was kneeling. "What's she allergic to?" I asked.

"We don't know yet," Edward said quickly.

Carlisle was holding her wrist, checking her pulse. "How is it?" I asked him.

"Not where I want it," he responded.

Then with one last gasp, Jenny completely stopped breathing. I saw the tears start leaking out of Emily's eyes with my peripheral vision. She was at least staying out of the way.

Sam burst through the door just at that second. "CPR," Carlisle told Edward.

We immediately went into action. I pinched her nose and tilted her head back. Edward got her mouth open a bit more. He put his lips on hers and pushed a breath through her.

"One, two, three," I counted. He breathed for her again. I heard the ambulance sirens and saw Sam open the door for them. They came in with the gurney and wheeled it over to where we were. "… two, three," I said. Edward breathed for her again.

One of the EMT's was carrying an oxygen mask and placed it over her mouth and nose. Edward and I moved out of the way. Carlisle moved to hold the mask over her face, and the two EMT's lifted her onto the gurney. I glanced at who the EMT's were. They were John and Cole. Edward used to be an EMT, but he had done that just as experience for becoming a doctor. They were training a new girl now, Lainey. I had met her once, she was very eager to learn.

"One parent can ride in the ambulance," John said to no one particular.

"You go," Sam said to Emily. He took Brandon out of Emily's arms. She got out of her seat, and didn't say another word, or shed another tear, she just followed.

"Sam," I said. He barely glanced at me. "Sam give me Brandon, c'mon. You follow in your car. I'll take him to Sue."

Sam met my gaze. He only had one moment of hesitation, then he handed me Brandon. It felt natural to hold a sleeping baby, but he woke up at my cold touch. He blinked a few times, and then looked around him. He started to cry. He started to push away from me, trying to get to Sam who he had spotted walking away.

Sam froze where he was. He turned back around, and leaned over Brandon. He stopped crying almost at once. He pushed him back into my arms, and kissed him on the fore head. "Sh, honey its okay," he whispered to him. "It's going to be okay, sissy's going to be okay. Be good for Sue, Brandon Michael." He kissed him again, and strolled out the door.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Edward muttered to me.

I nodded at him. Brandon was slowly drifting to sleep in my arms again. I walked out the door and to Sue's house, locking the door on my way out. I shielded Brandon's face from the rain by holding him close to my chest. It wasn't far to Sue's house, but when I got there, she was already waiting.

"Just tell me what's going on," she said to me as I walked up the drive. She let me in the house.

"Jenny's allergic to something," I told her. "Her throat was still too swollen to breathe when the ambulance took her. Emily's in the ambulance, Sam is following."

She held out her arms to Brandon. "I already have Nick and Lexi here, Joel and Leah are both out there. The kids are asleep."

I nodded at her. "I'm going to go let them know what's going on and stuff. I think they can stop running patrol now, nobody is going to hurt us again tonight." I looked up. "Leah and Brooke shouldn't be out in this any way." I checked my watch. It was almost one am. I said good bye to Sue, and took off for the woods again.

"C'mon guys!" I yelled as I started passing wolves. "C'mon its fine, I have to talk to you." I knew they all had the message now that a few of them did. They couldn't communicate between packs now that Sam wasn't here, but I'm sure someone from both packs could hear me. I ran a little further and stopped in a dense part of the trees.

It wasn't long before they started coming into the trees around me. Once everyone was there, I pointed my finger at Brooke and Leah. "You and you," I said, pointing each of them out in turn. "This counts as stupid." I sighed, then smirked at them. "C'mon, it's only two rules!"

"Sorry…" Leah said. "Thought we were helping…"

"Oh you were," I said. "Helping us at least."

"So," Jake said. "What's going on Bells?"

"Well," I said. "We have had a very crazy and scary night. The Volturi decided to severely injure Connor tonight, as a second warning." My voice was almost completely blank, apart from the anger in it. "He's… severely shaken, and so is Julia, as you probably saw, but he'll be okay. They're together now, that's all they really need." I gave him a half smile. "Now Jenny," I went into my nurse mode. "She had an allergic reaction to something she ate; we don't know what that was yet. When I got there, she was barely able to breathe. She actually got to the point where she couldn't at all a few minutes later. We did CPR until the ambulance got there. She was completely unconscious when they wheeled her out, and they had the oxygen mask on her."

"How are Sam and Emily?" Leah asked quietly.

I turned to her. "Sam was… beyond calm. Emily was completely terrified. But they're parents Leah; I mean of course they're worried. They were handling it well though, didn't get in our way."

Leah nodded slowly. "Where's Brandon?"

"With Sue. Oh, and your kids are asleep." I told her as an afterthought.

"So what do you need us to do now?" Embry asked.

"Uh, I need you to take your pregnant wife home! Everyone go home! This is not the weather to be out in!" I said sternly, but then I smiled. I turned to go. "Oh Jake," I said. "Just to let you know, Nessie passed out."

He froze in his tracks. "What?" he asked loudly.

"Passed out. She's okay though. Very emotionally overwhelmed, I'd steer clear if I were you. A girl with some serious hormones that potentially has the power to kill you is not something to mess with."

"Ooooh," Kaylie and Lauren said at the same time.

"Yeah, you're telling me," I said to them. I sighed. "She's a good girl though; she'll be out of this stage before we know it. Just like with everything else…"

There was a brief moment of silence. "Must be tough," Joel said suddenly. We all looked at him. "I can't imagine having my kids grow up that fast."

I put my hand up to my cheek. "Yeah…" I said. "It goes even faster when you have the whole of forever laid out in front of you." I looked around me. "I mean c'mon, I swear, yesterday she was sitting on the floor watching Alice zip around the room. The next thing I knew she got up and walked across the floor to me. Do you remember that Jake? She almost gave both Edward and I a heart attack, and that's not an easy thing to do." I added.

Jake chortled a little bit. "Yeah, I remember. That was … that was a pretty scary time, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…" I said. "Hey," I said more quickly. "What are we doing standing in the rain, reminiscing old memories? I have to get to the hospital!" I clicked my tongue. I pointed at Brooke and Leah again. "Take it easy, don't be stupid." I tapped my temple. "Use your brains. I'll let you guys know what's going on with Jenny as soon as I can." And then I took off toward my house where I could pick up my truck. I popped in the house just long enough to tell them what was going on, and then I was off to the hospital.

When I pulled in, the ambulance was still there, but it was empty. I rushed in the doors to see what was going on. I passed the reception desk without a glance back. If I signed in, I could pretty much go wherever I wanted. I pulled my nurse's jacket on over my wet t-shirt and jeans after I slid my card through the sign-in slot.

I listened carefully for a second, trying to find the voice of Edward. He was in the ICU, and I could hear Sam and Emily in there too. I hustled down the corridor, and skidded to a halt in front of the room. They didn't even have a nurse in here yet…

"Hey…" I said absentmindedly as I walked into the room.

"Hey…" Edward said. Sam and Emily were in the corner of the room, by Jenny's head. Edward was over by the counter in the very back of the room, he looked like he was trying to get the allergy medicine ready. "Can you get her pulse, Bella? She has to get this as soon as possible. She also needs the IV please."

"Yeah…" I walked over to Jenny and reached my hand toward her arm. "Pulse is questionable, but she should be okay to have the medicine," I told him.

I walked over to the counter where he was getting her medicine ready. I grabbed and IV needle and a sterilizer. I came over to the bed again and stretched her arm out in front of me. I put the needle in smoothly, and pulled the tubes away from her bed toward the IV pack. Edward came over with the allergy medicine and I helped him attach it to the IV bag. We hooked it to the tube and soon she was getting the medicine she needed.

"Okay…" Edward said. "Give it an hour to ninety minutes, and she'll be up. But while you wait," he grabbed a clipboard with paperwork on it. "If you'll fill these out, then we can see what insurance will cover and such. If this medicine does its job, she'll be out of the ICU before the night is over."

"And…" I said. "Since this isn't my normal shift, I can stay in here with you guys if you'd like."

Emily nodded. "Ok. Um… thank-you, for everything." She sounded very shaken up.

"No problem," I said.

Edward handed her the clipboard. "I'm going to go fill out the medical records, I'll be back in a bit." He turned to leave. "Oh Bella," he said. "Hit the button if she wakes up, I want to talk to her."

"You got it," I said.

He smiled at me, which completely distracted me of course, and strolled out of the room. As soon as I got myself together again, which probably took a lot less time than I thought, I walked over to Jenny.

"Well Emily," I said. "I must say, you handled that little catastrophe very well."

She looked up. "Really? I thought I kind of lost it back there at the house. I mean… I started crying."

I snorted. "You're pregnant, pregnant woman cry all the time. And that was plenty of an excuse to. As long as you stay out of our way, we don't care what you do."

She laughed a little. "I'm just glad she's going to be okay."


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

It took Sam and Emily quite a while to fill out the paperwork, but I let them take their time. I monitored Jenny, made sure her pulse and temperature were in good condition and stuff. An hour later, Emily handed me back the clipboard, and I went to bring it to Edward. He was talking to Carlisle when I got to the nurse's station, filling him in on what he had done with Jenny.

"Hey," I said for the second time tonight. "She's still out, but here's the paperwork."

I handed it to him. "Thanks." He said as he took it and began to look over it. "Scary night huh?"

"Just a little," I said sarcastically. I sighed. "I'm going to get back there, just in case she wakes up."

"'Kay," he said. "Love you," he called as I walked away.

"Of course," I said.

When I got back to the room, Jenny was stirring slightly. "She'll be up soon," I said.

Emily looked at me. "She'll be afraid when she wakes up," she said sadly.

"Well," I said. "She's not going to be able to talk with the oxygen mask on, but I can see about taking that off if she'll let me get her pulse, blood pressure, and temperature."

Emily nodded. I glanced down at the IV in her arm. "Hmmm…" I said. "Do you think she'll try to pull that out or anything?"

Emily looked at Sam. "I… don't know," he said. "If you tell her not to, she won't. But she might be kind of hard to talk to if she's scared."

"I see…" I said. I walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a long, elbow length, white glove made out of soft gauze. "This is just a glove we use on little kids. We don't have a pediatric department, but she's obviously too big to be in the nursery. This will just make sure she can't pull the IV out."

"That'll work," Sam said. Just then, Jenny started to move her head. Her eyelids fluttered. She started whimpering a little in her sleep. She opened her eyes. The fear was there before she could even move around. I hit the call button for Edward to come.

Jenny's eyes darted around the room. She opened her mouth to try to speak, but realizing she couldn't, became even more terrified. "Jenny," Emily said. Jenny's eyes switched to Emily, but she barely even glanced at her. She started twisting her head, trying to get the oxygen mask off. She started to twist more of her body, and moaned when she moved her stomach. It must be sore from swallowing the allergen. She started to cry.

"Jenny, Jenny, sh, honey don't cry," Emily said. "It's okay honey, its okay."

Jenny looked up at her mom. She relaxed a little, but the tears still flowed down her cheeks.

"You're going to be okay, Jenny," Sam said, stroking her arm. Jenny was still crying.

Edward came strolling into the room. "Hi," he said. "Have you taken any of her vitals yet?"

"Nope, but just about to," I told him.

I walked over to the bed. I approached tentatively. "I'm going to listen to your heart, okay Jenny?" I asked her. She was still crying, but she nodded her head. She was breaking my heart…

I got her pulse, and rattled off the numbers to Edward. I did the same with her blood pressure. Then I took her temperature, which was completely normal. "Ok Jenny," I said. "I think we can take this mask off now…" I looked at Edward and he nodded.

I reached behind her head and pulled the strap off around her head.

"Mommy," she said in a hoarse voice as soon as the mask was gone. "My tummy hurts."

Emily looked at me. "It's okay, you'll be okay," she said.

Edward stepped forward. "Hi Jenny," he said. He pulled up a chair by her bed. "I'm Edward, do you remember me?"

She seemed to think about it for a minute. "You're Nessie's daddy," she said a few seconds later.

Edward laughed a little. "Yep, that's me. Do you remember what happened?"

She gave him a scared look. "I was... drinking the milk, and then my tummy hurt and I couldn't breathe… like when you go swimming under water. Then… you were there… and you gave me a kiss that made me breathe… and it hurt. Then… I don't remember anything else."

Edward nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much what happened."

He turned to Emily. "What kind of milk was it?"

"Soy," Emily said. "I didn't think anything of it, but she's never had it before. I gave it to both of the kids."

"Well I think we have our allergen, then," Edward said. He wrote in down on the medical record.

He turned back to Jenny. "How old are you Jenny?"

"I'm going to be five really soon," she said.

"Do you know what this place is called?" He asked.

She looked around. "No," she said.

"Have you ever heard of a hospital? That's what this is. You have to stay here for just a little bit so I can make you better alright?"

She gave him a scared look. "Is it going to hurt?"

"Not very much," Edward told her. "Especially not tonight."

"Okay," she sighed. "Can my mommy and daddy stay here with me?"

"They sure can," he said. "As long as they want. Right now though, you need to get some sleep okay?"

She laid her head back. "Okay," she said.

Edward reached out his hand and she shook it. "Thanks for being a good patient, Jenny," he said.

"You're welcome," she sighed. I laughed a little inside my head. I thought it very funny how Edward talked to little kids in the hospital. He had told me once, 'If they're old enough to talk, then I'll treat them like adults. They can talk to me just like their parents can, so why not ask them the questions? It makes them feel more comfortable.' I smiled to myself at the memory. I reached around the bed to recline it from the sitting position. She closed her eyes. I shut off the bright lights.

"Do I have permission to medically get her some sleep?" Edward asked Sam and Emily. They looked at each other for the briefest of seconds, and then they both nodded. Edward moved over to her IV pack and put three drops of sleep medication in it.

Her eyes began to droop shut almost instantly. Emily stood up from her seat and began to stroke her hair. Edward kissed my cheek, nodded at me, and strode out of the room. I went to take the seat that Edward had just been in. Emily looked exhausted. I had an idea. "Emily," I said. "Would you like me to go get a cot for you? You can get some sleep, or at least try to. I know people here, trust me, I can _make them_ leave you guys alone."

"Um… sure," Emily said. "And Sam, you can go get Brandon… if you'd like. Get some sleep, and then, come get me in the morning. I would stay…. But you know, I'll probably be sick…"

"Yeah," Sam said. "If that's what you want. Or I'll camp out here and you can go home, it doesn't matter to me."

"No, no it's fine, I'll stay. You go home, make sure Brandon get's some sleep, and give him a kiss for me. Come get me whenever you can, I'll wait."

"Okay," Sam said. He leaned over and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too," Emily said. Sam leaned down and kissed Jenny on the forehead one last time, then left for home. I followed him out the door and went to get a cot. We kept them here for the rare occasions when a child was admitted to the hospital and a parent wanted to stay with them. I wheeled the cot down the hallway and into the room. I grabbed an extra pillow from the storage under Jenny's bed, and put it on the cot for Emily.

"Thank-you Bella," Emily sighed.

"No problem," I said. "Emily… I think I'm going to head home if you guys are comfortable. Nessie fainted about thirty minutes before you called, and I just want to go be with her."

"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry, I hope you didn't feel obligated to stay here with us," Emily apologized.

"It's okay," I said. "I wanted to be here. Edward will probably stay a little bit longer, then come home. I have a shift early tomorrow, so I'll probably see you again."

Emily nodded. "Thanks again," she said.

"You're very welcome," I said. I looked at her face. The scars that had once haunted her and Sam's past were gone now. Carlisle had found a way to get rid of the more severe scars, and had happily done it for her just a few months ago. The other scars had faded into the background with the help of scar serum. The surgery turned out not to be very difficult even, but it took almost a week to let her heal up afterwards. She had done it right around Brandon's first birthday actually. I sighed. That was so Carlisle. Always wanting to help people no matter how he did it.

I strolled out of the room and went to find Edward to let him know I was heading home.

"See ya," I said.

"Bye," he said, glancing up and waving.

A few minutes later I was pulling into the almost totally concealed drive. I could hear that all the others were still at the house. Even Julia. Connor should be doing a little bit better by now. I sighed. They had school today, I had almost forgotten. Connor wouldn't go of course, which meant Julia probably wouldn't either. Nessie could get their make-up work though. I pulled my car into the garage and parked it in its usual spot. I went in through the back door, and saw that Nessie was asleep on the couch. She looked like she really hadn't moved; she was still in the clothes she had worn the day before.

"Hey," I said as I walked into the living room.

Everyone said hello. "How long was she up?" I asked Esme.

"Oh, only about another hour, Jasper put her to sleep after that. She seemed a little less upset though, even without Jasper's help."

I sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that night. "That's good."

"How's Jenny, Bella?" Alice asked.

"Oh," I said. "She's alright now. Edward got some drugs in her to help her breathe and make the other symptoms go away. She woke up pretty terrified, but her parents got her calmed down enough for me to get her vitals. She felt much better after I took the oxygen mask off of her. Turns out she's _very_ allergic to soy."

"Hmm," Rosalie said. "They'll have to be careful then."

I nodded. I looked at my watch, it was a little after four. I looked at Nessie. "She can sleep for a couple more hours, she needs it." I went to sit on the couch. I brushed Nessie's hair out of her face. She stirred slightly. I remembered this couch. I had spent almost twenty-four hours a day on this couch when I was pregnant with Nessie. We had come so far since those days.

The next couple hours passed.


	14. Chapter 14

Epilogue: Graduation

"Let's go," I said as I slid into the front seat of the Volvo.

We skidded out of the driveway. Carlisle and Esme had taken Connor over to the High School about thirty minutes ago so he could get lined up for the ceremony. He and Julia had done it; they had made it through High School. They had told us last night; Julia was ready. She wanted to become a vampire sometime this summer.

Connor had healed up nicely. After an extremely agonizing two hours, and another eight painful ones, he was ready to get up and go hunt a few small animals. He missed a whole day of school, but was back by the next day. Julia was very unhappy with the Volturi at the moment. Jenny was okay now, but they had to be very careful about what she ate. She was feeling much better after forty-eight hours of hospitalization. Now, a month-and-a-half later, they were both good as new.

We arrived at the school just a few minutes later. The parking lot was packed of course, with family all flying in to see the ceremony. Nessie was in the back seat wearing a slightly casual purple dress that we had bought for the ceremony. I was in a pale pink three-quarter-length tee with a knee length black skirt, and Edward was wearing a blue collared shirt with khaki pants. The others were following in a separate car, seeing as we all couldn't fit in this one anymore.

The first thing I saw in the gym was that it looked very similar to how it had been just a few years ago. The graduates were all lined up in the same fashion as we had been, and the people were sitting in the same way. The Gym building had been built up nicely after the fire nearly two-and-a-half-years previous. That fire had been the start of a lot of things… Good things, but a lot of things. Esme and Carlisle had saved seven other seats in between them, and we all filed in next to them. As I sat down I caught Julia's eye and winked at her with a little smile. She smiled back.

I reached down and grabbed Edward's hand as the lights dimmed and the procession march started. The graduates walked in pairs, alphabetically. Julia Bird and Connor Cullen walked in right next to each other. I noticed Julia's father in the front row, he had a camera in his hand, but he was just as introverted as ever.

The graduation was almost identical to ours, just with different kids, different speeches, different names and faces. Connor gave the valedictorian speech, it was only about ninety seconds long, but it had a good meaning and a good message. Julia was the first person called, followed by Connor. We cheered loudly for both of them, making Julia blush, and Connor glare at us as he walked off to stand with Julia. The graduating class was, of course, only about fifty-five kids. When the diplomas were finished being handed out, all the graduates moved to the center of the stage, and on their cue, threw their hats up in the air and caught them. The roar of cheering was so loud it was almost deafening. Families filed onto the stage, including us. The nine of us made our way to the center of the stage where I could hear Connor and Julia. I grabbed Edward's hand.

"We did it!" Julia yelled.

"With only a few catastrophes!" Connor yelled back. I heard them come together as they kissed each other. We got through the crowd just as they came apart.

What I saw next made me literally stop breathing. I only had time to register Julia's dad smiling slightly out of my peripheral vision. Before our very eyes Connor got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. Julia's small shriek made the people around us stop to see what was going on. Murmurs of what had just happened slowly went through the crowd as more people turned to stare. It fell silent over the stage. Edward squeezed my hand tighter.

Julia had her hands over her mouth and was staring at Connor like she couldn't believe her eyes. _I_ couldn't believe _my _eyes.

"Julia," Connor said. "Will you please," he paused for a second. "Please, please, please, marry me?"

I couldn't see Julia's mouth because it was still covered by her hands, but her eyes formed into a smile. I watched as they filled with long-awaited tears, and I knew what the answer was before she could say a word.

She pulled her hands down from her mouth, and took a deep, shaky breath.

"What took you so long?" she said quietly. Then she threw herself at Connor. People were laughing and cheering as they hugged each other. Julia was crying into Connor's shoulder, and the smile on his face was so huge I thought it could touch his ears.

I looked at Julia's father, and he didn't look at all surprised. I turned to my family. Nessie's mouth was hanging open in a huge smile. Alice was and Esme were grinning like fools. Carlisle and Rosalie looked completely shocked, but happy. Emmett and Jasper were smiling a little, and I looked at Edward.

His eyes met mine and we both wrapped each other into a hug. "They're almost there," he whispered.

"Almost to forever," I whispered back.

We broke apart almost at the same time Julia and Connor did. Julia's tear-streaked face met mine as I ran to give her a hug.

"Bella!" she squealed.

"I know," I said back. "Forever is almost here." I said this quietly so nobody but our family could hear. She came away from me and into the waiting arms of her father.

"Daddy!" she said. She was crying again as she hit his shoulder. He looked a little uncomfortable with the tears, but he stroked the back of her head.

"You know," he said. "I wouldn't have said yes if I had any doubts."

She looked up at him. "He asked you?" she questioned.

He nodded. "I love you dad," she whispered.

"Love you too baby," he said.

She broke away from him. "I can't believe you," Julia muttered as she fell into Connor's arms again. They were ready for it. They were ready for forever.


	15. Chapter 15

Book Four: Forever

**CHAPTER 15**

"Hey," I said as we walked through the back door. Another Saturday. Edward, Carlisle, and I had work at the hospital tonight, but we had the whole day off. It was around six in the morning, so we were letting Nessie sleep in. Connor was still at Julia's house, but I doubted if she would be asleep much longer. With all the excitement of last night…

Last night Connor had proposed to Julia in front of everyone at their High School graduation. She had been extremely surprised, but she had said yes. Today we were doing five ultrasounds; Leah, Emily, Rachel, Kim, and Brooke were all three months pregnant. I was so happy for all of them. I don't have any idea how many of these were _planned_ pregnancies, but hey, whatever.

It was now June first, and Connor and Julia wanted to get married quickly. They were looking to be married on the twenty-ninth. They were having the wedding here, at the house, just like Edward and I had. We were all helping out, but Alice was doing most of the work. She was like a general and we were her cadets. Don't mess with Alice when it comes to planning a wedding.

We were going to get in a few good hours of wedding dress shopping after the ultrasounds, but I had to be back at seven for work. We were going up to Port Angeles first, and depending on how long it took us there, we might even head up to Seattle.

A murmur of greetings came at us as we walked into the living room. Rosalie was playing Edward's piano, and Alice was on the computer with Esme. Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper were watching something on ESPN, but I had no idea what.

"What are you playing Rose?" Edward asked.

She stopped playing. "I have no idea, but I swear I've heard it before." She was quiet for a minute. "I think my mother used to sing it to me when I was a baby."

"Hmmm," Edward said. "That's a possibility."

Rose nodded, and turned back to the piano. I went and sat down by her. We had yet to ask Rose if she wanted to help us deliver the babies come January. It's not that we hadn't wanted to ask her, we just hadn't got around to it yet. Carlisle had asked Esme almost immediately, and she had of course agreed. "So," I said.

"So," Rosalie said. She stopped playing the piano and looked at me.

"Five babies are going to be born here in January," I said.

"Yep," she said.

"And there are only three of us," I said.

"Yep," she repeated. She raised her eyebrows at me.

"And we wanted to know if you wanted to help us out."

She blinked. "I'd love to," she said. "But I don't know if they'll be okay with it."

"Oh no," I reassured her. "They are, we already asked them."

"They are?"

"Yep," I mocked her.

She smiled. "Then I'd be happy to help. But I'm just going to let you know right now, I really have no idea what I'm doing."

I laughed. "That's okay, Sue is going to help, and so is Abbey."

She raised her eyebrows again. "Abbey? Isn't she a bit young?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know," I said. "I think if she wants to try and help out a bit, that's fine by me. She wants to do something with it when she's older, so why not try it now?"

"Good point," she said. And she went back to playing the piano.

About two hours later, we were all up in Carlisle's office. Rosalie was up there with us this time, but she was just watching. Leah was on the table, she looked a little pale, but otherwise she was doing okay with her morning sickness. Emily always had it the worst. She was usually sick very early in the morning, so she didn't get much sleep. She was usually feeling better by the second trimester, they all usually were, but morning sickness seemed to be hitting hard this time around. They were already twelve weeks.

Carlisle flipped on the ultrasound and I tossed him the gel from across the room. "So Leah," I said. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "Not too bad, but I'm ready for the morning sickness to stop right about now."

"It will," I assured her.

"I know," she sighed.

Carlisle squirted the gel all over her stomach. He began to whistle as he moved the ultrasound wand over her stomach.

"There's the head," Carlisle pointed out the now recognizable human face. "The neck and chest are formed well." He moved the wand over a little on her stomach. "And are the fingers. If you watch they'll clench and unclench, and so will the eyes." We watched for a moment, and they did as he described.

"Want to see something cool?" Edward asked, breaking the silence.

"Is it going to hurt?" Leah asked immediately.

"Nope."

"Go for it."

"Watch the screen," Edward instructed. He poked Leah's stomach with three fingers, right where the baby would be. I watched as the baby squirmed slightly on the screen.

"Wow," Leah said. "One question; why can't I feel that?"

"The baby doesn't have the power to move that much at twelve weeks," I answered.

"Oh."

"Healthy baby," Carlisle muttered. He took the wand off her stomach and set it down. "Any other questions?"

"Nope." I handed her a towel to wipe the ultrasound gel off with. For the next hour, we did the same thing, four more times over.

I was starting to wonder about Brooke. She was a little bigger than the other girls, enough to make me think that maybe something was up. I thought maybe her appetite was changing, but when I asked her, she and Embry both said that she had been eating close to the same things as before she was pregnant. I figured it was just the fact that it was her first baby.

We picked up Julia around nine thirty, and drove up to Port Angeles. We went to every store that could possibly sell wedding dresses. On our last store, we found it. I had been looking through the racks for a size four, when I got to it. The most beautiful dress, in the right size.

"Julia, come here," I said. She had been standing with Rosalie and Esme, and all three of them walked over. Alice came over from the other side of the store to see what I had found.

I pulled out the dress carefully. Julia gasped. A perfect white, with a slightly dipping neckline and sleeves that came down just past her elbows. Beading across the chest, and a full skirt covered in lace that would fall to her ankles. A satin ribbon to be tied in a bow hung from either side of the dress. I could see her in it now. She would be beautiful.

"Oh my gosh," Julia said. "That's beautiful!"

There were murmurs of agreement. We all stood transfixed, staring at the dress. Alice snapped out of it first. "You have to try this on Julia!" she said. I handed Julia the dress, and Alice followed her into the changing rooms so she would be able to help her zip the back of it up and tie the bow.

They were in there for only about a minute. Alice was fast. When Julia pulled the curtain back, I knew we had found the dress. Every inch of that beautiful garment hugged Julia like it was made for her. The dress fell to the perfect point at her feet, and the sleeves looked custom made. The dip in the neck didn't show too little or too much skin. Her amber hair was now half-way down her back and I could just imagine it in a beautiful up-do.

"Julia you look beautiful!" I exclaimed.

"Really?" she said.

I nodded. "Look at yourself!" I grabbed her shoulders and turned her around so she would be facing the mirror.

It took her a second to process what she was seeing. She gasped. "I look…"

"Stunning!" Rosalie finished for her.

"Yeah…" she muttered. Her eyes came back into focus. She shook her head. "How much does it cost?"

"Never you mind," Esme said. "I'm taking care of that."

"Oh no, Esme," Julia said. "I couldn't let you do that."

"You can, and you will," Esme smiled at her. "Just take this as my wedding gift to you and Connor."

Julia closed her eyes as if this was a dream. "Are you sure?" she said.

"Positive," Esme said.

"Oh Esme, thank-you!" Julia said. She gave Esme a hug.

"You're very welcome dear," Esme said.

We had about two hours left before we needed to head back so I could get to work. We spent the time looking for shoes and jewelry, which Esme, of course, insisted on buying herself. By the time we had to leave, Julia had her wedding gown, shoes, and jewelry. We had gotten lucky at some stores, but Alice was literally a professional shopper, and she had made the day _very _productive.

"Bella?" Julia asked as we were going home.

"Yeah Jewels?" I answered.

"Will you be my maid of honor?"

I turned around in my seat. "I would be honored," I said.

She smiled at me. "Thank-you, Bella. Thank-you all," she said addressing all four of us.

They dropped me right off at the hospital; Edward would take me home in the morning when we were done. There was an open EMT shift tonight, and because I had the right amount of training, they had asked me to take it. It was easier to find a nurse in this town than it was to find somebody waiting to jump in an ambulance.

Edward was in the lobby when I came in showing a parent how to use an inhaler with their child. I waved to him and he smiled at me and nodded. I went to go sign in; it looked like Edward had already done so. Doctors tended to have more to do. One night he literally worked nonstop for the entire twelve hour shift.

I slid my card through the slot and grabbed one of the extra EMT t-shirts. I went into one of the bathrooms and switched out my sweatshirt for the uniform. I left my sweatshirt and purse in my cubby, and went to the EMT room to wait for the first call of the night.

Lainey and Cole were working tonight. "Hi Bella," Lainey said as I came in.

"Hey Lain," I said. I sighed. "Another night as a Forks Hospital EMT. Wow, life doesn't get more interesting than this."

Lainey and Cole laughed. We sat for a while, Cole had brought a book, and Lainey was texting on her cell phone. I grabbed the binder where the EMT's kept track of all the ambulance runs they had gone on. I think this was still the first book we had ever used, because the first date was from the fifty's when this hospital had opened.

I read through every page, all the way up to where Edward had joined the EMT team. Around three we got our first call. We dropped everything and hopped to our feet as the bell rang through the room. The woman who answered the phone came over the intercom a second later. "Charlie Swan was shot. On the road to Port Angles, just a bit outside of town. Police have sirens on if you can't find them."

The world started spinning. The other EMT's hadn't even processed the information yet. Charlie was shot? No, no, no, no! Not Charlie. Not my dad, Charlie. He couldn't have been shot.

Yet even as the doubts went through my head I knew it was true. Charlie was shot, and I didn't know where, or how fatal the shot had been. Charlie needed my help.

I broke the stillness. I shot out of the room, reminding myself in the back of my head to go slowly. Cole and Lainey were out almost as fast as me, which meant that I wasn't too fast. I sprinted past Edward in the lobby where he was speaking to a nurse about a patient in ICU, pausing just long enough to blurt out, "My dad was shot," and be on my way. I hopped into the front of the ambulance, and Lainey and Cole into the back. I flipped on the sirens in the same second that I started the vehicle, and zoomed right out of the hospital parking lot and into the open road. I was flying.

"Whoa she's going fast," I heard Cole say.

"Well it's her dad," Lainey reminded him.

They were silent for the rest of the trip. All the cars I saw pulled over before I got there, and there weren't many of them. It took about the longest fifteen minutes of my life before I finally saw where they were parked. There were a lot of police cars there; the other Forks one and several Port Angeles ones. I could smell the blood before I had even parked the vehicle. I jerked us to a halt right at the center of the police cars and turned off the engine, I almost beat Cole and Lainey out of the ambulance.

I ran over to where all the cops were gathered around. "EMT's, stand back please," Cole was saying to them. They all stepped back. Lying there, in a pool of his own blood, was my father. I wanted to cry at the sight of him.

I got my bearings about me, and removed my emotional side from the situation. I knelt down beside Charlie's head.

I was shocked to see he was conscious... That was a good sign. He opened his eyes blearily as I came up.

"Well hey there, Bells," he said in a hoarse, slightly higher than normal voice.

I put my cold hand on his face. "Oh dad," I said.

"Bullet's in the left forearm," Cole said clearly. "Not extremely deep."

I sighed with relief. Nothing fatal, but we would have to move fast of course. The bullet needed to be out of him. "You're going to be okay dad," I said.

He gave a weak laugh. "Always am, Bells, always am."

"I'll get the gurney," Lainey said quietly.

As she walked away, I said to Charlie, "You gave me quite a scare there, dad."

He snorted. "Yeah, I saw how fast you came flying in here young lady."

"Hey," I said defensively. "You know the law; emergency vehicles have the right of way and can go as fast as they need."

He chuckled a little. "Alright there chief," Cole said. "We're going to load you on here nice and easy as soon as we stabilize your arm." Lainey handed me the bag. Of the three of us here, I was the chief of staff. We based that off of who had worked here longer. I was only about a month before Cole, but all the same, before. Lainey hadn't even completely finished all her training yet. I was in charge.

"Cole, I want you to wrap his arm four times around in gauze, but seal it with just one layer of tape, they'll have to be able to get to it fast. After you get done there we're going to brace the arm, and Lainey, you're going to hold his arm while me and Cole lift him onto the gurney." I paused to look at them and Cole immediately went to work. "While we work on this, Lainey, I need you to get all his vitals and record them please."

She went to work as well. It took us fifteen full minutes to get everything done. Charlie said it hurt a bit, but he was hanging in there. We got him onto the gurney, and I told him the rest of the trip would be easy as pie. Cole offered to drive the ambulance back, so I rode in the back with Charlie and Lainey.

"So dad," I said. "Did you get the guy?"

He laughed. "Yeah, we got him. Great chase. They took him down with a stun gun just after he got me. Stupid criminal."

I sighed. "Well, at least you got him." I looked out the small ambulance window. "Almost there now. If it makes you feel better both Edward and Carlisle are on duty, so at least I know how to make them do what you want."

He snorted again. "You do that Bells, you do that."

We screeched into the parking lot and Edward was already waiting by the doors for us. We unloaded Charlie from the back of the ambulance, and wheeled him through the doors to the hospital. "Look what the cat dragged in," Edward joked as we came in.

"Bullet's not deep," Lainey told him.

"That's good," Edward muttered.

We wheeled Charlie through the doors to the ER rooms. If we were lucky he wouldn't need surgery. We went past Carlisle who was at the nurse's station.

"Hey," I said stopping really quickly to talk to him. "Is it alright if I stay with him? I can be his nurse."

"Sure Bella," he said. "But by law, we have to have a team of three EMT's if one of them is still in training. You'll have to find someone to switch with you."

At that moment, one of the older nurses walked out of the nurse's station. Her name was Grace I think. "I'll cover for you Bella," she said. "Go to your dad."

I nodded at her. "Thank-you," I called as I walked away.

I grabbed my nurse's jacket from the sign-in area as I walked past. I threw it on over my borrowed EMT shirt and set off in the direction of Edward's voice. He was telling people what to do, very much in his element. I found him helping wheel Charlie into one of the rooms. I joined him and he immediately set me to work.

"Bella," he said quietly so Charlie wouldn't hear. "We have to put him under until I can see if he'll need surgery, or if_ I_ can get the bullet out. Don't let him freak out. He'll need to breathe it in only twice." He gave me a small smile and I returned it.

I moved to Charlie's head as we got him into the room. I pulled on my rubber gloves as I talked. "Dad," I said. He looked at me. "We're going to have to put you under for a bit, alright?" I said this calmly and gently.

He nodded his head. "Will…will you stay with me until I wake up?"

"Of course," I said. "You won't even be under for that long, I promise."

He nodded again. "Thanks Bells," he said.

"That's my job," I reminded him with a smile.

He smiled back. I wheeled over the oxygen mask and the tank that had the drugs to put you under in it. I flipped the on switch and put the mask over his mouth and nose. "Breathe deep and count backwards from ten," I told him. But I think he was out before I even finished my sentence. I let him take one more breath, then turned the machine off as Edward had instructed.

Edward set to work immediately. He extended Charlie's arm out onto the table, and brought the overhead light to above his arm. "Oh," Edward said. "This isn't that bad, I can get this out." He took one more look at the bullet wound. I was purposefully ignoring the smell of blood. "Bella," he said. "Hand me some gauze, and the long nosed tweezers. And if you would please sterilize the area, that'd be great."

I went to do what he had asked for. Edward turned to tie his mask on. I felt my throat burn with the familiar thirst as I wiped down the area with a sterilizer. I handed Edward the gauze and tweezers. I took a chance and looked in the wound. My stomach churned with a great desire, but I was in control. He was right; the wound really wasn't that bad. It had just punctured the skin. The muscle was slightly damaged, but he would only need a little physical therapy.

Edward put the gauze onto Charlie's skin and put pressure on it. It started to fill with blood, but it wouldn't need replacing for a while. Edward took the tweezers with his other hand and began to poke for the bullet. I heard the hollow sound of metal hitting the thing that was in my father's arm. Edward met my gaze for half a second, and that gave me some comfort.

Edward moved his arm a bit to get a better angle, and began to remove the bullet. He worked it up through the little bit of muscle, and I could soon see it. It only took about fifteen minutes, and Edward pulled the bullet out cleanly from the wound. I moved my hand to hold the gauze and our hands brushed, making that electric flow run through my veins. Edward was the one to pull away of course. He placed the bullet in a plastic bag, and set the bag on a tray.

As I held the gauze he began to get ready for the stitches. The muscle didn't need any repairing, but the skin needed more than liquid stitch. "Gauze needs replacing," I said to Edward as he walked back over. He checked to make sure the wound would be alright.

"Go ahead," he said. I threw the used gauze into a disposal and grabbed another piece. Edward was already sewing when I got back. I used this gauze just to clean any excess blood that came out as Edward sewed. In a grand total of one hour-and-a-half, I was helping Edward wrap Charlie's arm in a fabric cast, and setting it gently back onto the table next to him.

We cleaned up our mess, and, together, wheeled Charlie out of the room and into a regular one. He wouldn't even need to be in the ICU. Once in the room, I stepped out and Edward changed Charlie into a hospital gown.

I went into the room when he was done to see when he would be waking up. It didn't take long before Charlie's eyes began to flutter and he was soon awake.

"Hey there dad," I said.

He smiled at me, and looked down at his arm. "All stitched up," I told him. "You won't even need that much physical therapy."

"That's good," he grunted.

"You should probably get some sleep dad," I suggested. "I'm working for a couple more hours any way, and I'll be close," I assured him.

"Wait Bella Marie," he said as I started to walk out of the room.

He had called me by my middle name. I stopped and turned around. I went to sit by him. "I need to tell you something," he said.

"Okay…" I said. Where was he heading?

"I'm just going to come right out and say this Bella," he took a deep breath. He looked slightly uncomfortable. "Bella… I proposed to Sue Clearwater last night, and she said yes."

My breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened. "Seriously?" I said to him. He nodded. I smiled. "That's great dad, I'm really happy for you." I _was_ really happy for him. A thought occurred to me. "I guess I'm getting a step-brother and step-sister then, aren't I?"

He nodded his head. "Well, you and Leah are all grown up and married now, and have children. Seth is still living at home though. The other thing I was going to tell you is that I'm going to move in with Sue. She wants to be closer to her kids. I'm going to put the house up for sale."

Well, it would be a change, but change is usually for the better. "That's really great dad," I told him. "Nessie's going to be happy that she's getting step-cousins." I looked off into space for a second. "Oh my gosh," I said. "I just realized; Seth and Edward are going to be step- brother-in-laws. That'll be good."

Charlie gave a weak laugh. "Yeah... Sue was telling her kids this morning as well, but honestly I'm pretty sure you're the first to know." He closed his eyes and yawned. "I think I'll get some sleep now Bells. Thanks for taking this the right way."

I laughed. "I'm really happy for you. I'll let you know when I can get you out of here. You get some sleep until then." I started to walk away. "Oh dad," I said. "Would you like me to let Sue know what's going on?"

He nodded. "Love you Bells," he said.

"Love you too dad."

Two hours later, Edward, Carlisle, and I were heading home from work. I had told both of them what Charlie had told me, and I had called Sue. She had been extremely worried at first, but she had felt much better once I had shown her the stitches and told her more information.

Nessie was already up and ready when we came in. She tended to sleep less when we weren't home at night. "MOM!" she half yelled when I came in. "Is he okay? What happened? Alice told me," she answered our questioning looks.

"He's okay. He got shot by a guy, but they arrested him." She looked very relieved. "The bullet just punctured his skin. His muscle wasn't even damaged very much."

"Oh," she said rather plainly.

"And I also have some good news," I told them. Alice smiled at me. She hadn't told anyone yet. Everyone looked at me. "My dad is getting married."

I let the news sink in. "To…?" Emmett questioned.

"A polar bear!" I said sarcastically. "Who do you think? Sue of course."

"NO WAY!" Nessie said. "That's awesome."

"That is pretty awesome," Esme said.

"Seth's going to be my step-brother-in-law," Edward muttered.

I snorted. "Yes he is. And we're going to have two, soon to be three if I do my job right, step-nieces and step-nephews."

"Well do you plan on not doing your job right?" Edward asked sarcastically.

"Oh you know what I meant!"

Later that night, Edward and I were in our bedroom, while Nessie slept. "You know," Edward whispered. "I've been thinking."

"About what exactly?" I whispered back.

"I was thinking that… well Nessie is getting older. She's going to be put into… situations soon."

I thought about what he was saying. I knew where he was going with this. "Edward…" I sighed. "Do you really think we need to give Nessie a sex talk?"

He blinked, and turned to me. "Unfortunately, that is exactly what I think." He paused for a second. "She's grown up faster than any child on earth… she's very mature. I think, as much as I regret it; that we definitely need to say something, explain _something_. Just make her aware of consequences."

I sighed. "Edward?"

"Yes?"

"I think I have a new respect for Charlie," I told him.

He chuckled. "I was thinking the exact same thing," he said.

"I'll leave you to that," I patted his chest.

"I was worried you were going to say that."

At exactly one minute after midnight on June twentieth, Edward and I were at home, lying together on the couch. "Happy Birthday," I said softly.

He looked down at me. "Very happy," he muttered.

I sighed and laid my head back on his chest. A thought occurred to me. "You know what they say," I said softly.

"And what is that?" He mumbled.

"On your birthday," I began. "You should receive the amount of kisses per the age you're turning…"

He wrapped his arms tighter around me. "And since I'm turning one-hundred-and-eight…"

"We should probably get started." I pushed myself up higher onto him and pressed my lips to his, quickly, then pulled away. "One…" I sighed.

He leaned in for the next one. "Two…" he counted.

I let myself be pulled into him, and just as quickly pulled away. "Three…" I whispered.

I could feel his breath on my face, his hands on my hips. I could see every inch of his perfect face, taste every particle of air that was him. I could smell the sweet smell that always brought me back to a faraway place… a place we didn't know if we'd get out of. I could hear him humming to me, telling me how much I was to him. He didn't even know the half of it…

He pulled me into him, and I couldn't resist enough to pull back. He turned his head for the quickest second. "Fo-"

I didn't let him finish his sentence.

Alice started driving before I even had the car door all the way shut. It was the early morning of June twenty-ninth. We were going to pick up Julia so we could start to get her ready for the wedding which would take place around four o'clock this afternoon. We had eight hours, and Alice was on the prowl.

I could hear that both Julia and her dad were up when we pulled into her driveway. She heard us pull in, and leaned down to kiss her dad good-bye before we even got out of the car. She was out the door a few seconds later. She was literally glowing with happiness. Well, that made our job easier. She gave us a literally blank canvas to work with. And with Julia's looks... This wouldn't be hard.

"Hey," she said as she got into the car. "I'm getting married today!"

I laughed. "We thought there was something going on…"


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

Everything was taken care of. Rosalie would play the music for the wedding, seeing as Connor had asked Edward to be his best man. The wedding was at the house, and the reception was in the yard. The wedding was very similar to mine and Edward's, but it was more modern than ours had been. They had hired a DJ for the reception, but the wedding was relatively small. They had invited most of their graduating class and both of the La Push packs and, if they had any, their children.

We had been setting up since very early this morning, getting the house ready and such. Rosalie and Esme were finishing up the house when we brought Julia through the front doors. I had my hands over her eyes so she couldn't see what the house looked like. She would get the full effect on her way down the stairs.

I spent the rest of the morning and about two hours of the afternoon up in Alice's bathroom with her, Julia, and occasionally Rosalie. At two o'clock, I went to greet the man who was delivering the flowers. After he closed his mouth, gave me the flowers, and drove away, I took the flowers outside. The guys had got back from Connor's bachelor party around twelve, and they had been helping Esme since then. But with only two hours until the wedding, and people showing up possibly within an hour, they needed to get ready.

Edward and I went back to our house to get ready, considering we were the best man and maid of honor. I pulled my deep purple dress on over my head, and had Edward zip up the back. The dress fell just above my knees, and it was a halter. I pulled my brown ringlets up a little, leaving some of them hanging down still. I didn't bother with make-up, but I hooked on a necklace Edward had gotten me for our third anniversary. It was a gold ring; with a diamond in the center. On the back of the ring, it said; 'My Forever'. My wedding ring glistened like new.

I helped Edward put on his deep purple tie to match my dress, and I pulled on my golden colored shoes. Edward laced up his black ones. We grabbed hands as we walked up the backyard, and I could see Rosalie through the big windows in a stunning red dress with her hair similar to mine, but with more pulled up.

I gave Edward a kiss on the cheek, and we parted at the stairs. He went to his old room, which was now Connor's, and I went to Alice's bathroom. When I came in, it looked like Julia was almost ready. She was stunning. The dress fit her perfectly, making her look just as beautiful as she was in the dress store. Alice had her face with a completely natural, yet utterly beautiful, make-up set. Her red hair was off her neck in a curled bun. It looked soft and natural. The veil was a comb inserted right at her bun and it flowed half-way down her back. Her white, open-toe heels were beaded, just like the dress, and gave her just the right amount of extra height. Her gold jewelry was very similar to mine; she was just missing a wedding ring. Well, at least for the next hour.

"Oh Julia," I said. "You look beautiful!"

She smiled at me. "Thank-you," she said. "So much." She turned to Alice and Rosalie as well. "You guys have done so much for me. I just… don't know how I can ever thank-you."

"You're thanking us enough by becoming our sister," I said to her.

She laughed. "Yeah, well, I'm getting an awful lot in return."

I heard Julia's father talking to Esme. He was the first here of course. I could hear Esme telling him the way to the bathroom we were in as she pinned on his flowers. People would be arriving any moment, and I was going to greet them at the door.

"Well," I said. "Here comes your dad," I told Julia. "I'll be up here in about half an hour." I walked over and gave her a gentle hug. "This'll be great."

She laughed. "No Bella, it'll be love," she said.

"That too!" I said as I walked out the door.

I passed Mr. Bird on the stairs. "Hello Mr. Bird," I said.

"Hello," he said quietly. He _was_ _very_ introverted.

I went to the door and waited for the next guests to arrive. I knew Julia didn't have much family coming. Her father was an only child, but her mother's little sister and her husband were coming. Julia told me her Aunt Hailey and Uncle Cam were only about eight years older than she was. Theirs was the last wedding she had been to.

It was mostly friends, and their fellow graduates that were coming to the wedding. Tanya and her family were coming down from Alaska, and we were all looking forward to seeing them again. Tanya had called Edward about a week ago to tell him that she was getting married. His name was Andrew, and he had been a vampire for about ten years. He hadn't been living our life style for long, but from what Tanya had told Edward, he was doing great. He didn't have a specific talent, but he was very good at hiding. We hadn't told the rest of the family about him, because we wanted Tanya to do the honors. She thought it was a great idea.

The first people to arrive were a whole group of their friends from high school. Come to think of it, these kids were probably in junior high when I went to that High School.

"Hi guys," I said as I opened the door. "I'm Bella; I'm married to Connor's brother Edward." I gestured to the seats set up in the living room. "You guys can sit anywhere but the front row on the left side, that is reserved for family."

They all either nodded or smiled. I recognized one of the girls as Connor's lab partner in chemistry. I think her name was Anna. Julia's Aunt Hailey and Uncle Cam got there next. I gave them pretty much the same speech as I had given their friends that had just came in. Over and over again for the next thirty minutes, I said the same thing to many different people.

Tanya's family was the last group I had time to greet. I ran out to meet them. "Hi!" I yelled.

Carmen was the first person to get to me. We locked into a hug. I was passed from arms to arms until soon everyone had hugged me. Tanya got me last. I saw a tall, slightly muscular, medium-brown haired, and of course, golden eyed and pale skinned, man.

"Bella," Tanya said. I turned my gaze to her. "This is Andrew." They were holding hands.

Andrew gave me a small smile. I smiled back. "Oh come here!" I said. I wrapped him in a hug as well.

"Well," I said. "I'd better get upstairs, and you all had better get in there and have a seat." I smiled. "They made it guys…"

They all smiled at me. I passed the now almost completely filled chairs, and made my way upstairs. I saw my family's questioning looks at Andrew, but I didn't have time to see their reactions.

In the bathroom, no one was up there now except Julia and her father. I waited outside for a moment as Edward and Connor passed. "Hey…" I said as Edward tried to walk past me with just a smile. I grabbed him by the hips and gave him a kiss. He kissed back. "Remember," I told him. "I always have, and always will love you Edward Cullen."

"And I the same," he said to me. "I'm looking forward to a whole lot more of forever with you Bella."

Then he pulled away. As he walked down the stairs I heard a hush fall over the crowd. Rosalie started playing the overture for the wedding that Edward had written. It was time. I knocked on the bathroom door. "Come in," Julia said calmly. I opened the bathroom door. Julia and Mr. Bird were standing there, waiting for me.

"You ready?" I asked them.

Julia smiled at me, and nodded. She picked up her bouquet, and latched her arm through her father's. I took my place on the stairs, and waited for my cue. Standing there, waiting to walk down this steep staircase in my high heels and dress, I thought back to my wedding day. That was one of the best days of my life. The month-and-a-half that had followed had been some of the hardest. I prayed hat Julia and Connor wouldn't face those same struggles.

But of course… it was possible. They were going to be married of course… and they had options. The only difference was Edward and I had walked into it blindly. They had their eyes peeled, because they knew full well what had happened to me and Edward.

I came back to the present. The music floated up to me. I could hear the breathing of every person out there. Smell their specific scent. I could feel the electricity in the room that told me Edward was close by. And then I heard my cue.

I began my walk down the stairs, taking it one step at a time. Everyone turned to look at me as I came down. I saw Connor standing by the minister, with Edward at his side. They were both grinning at me. I saw my family sitting in the front row. I saw Tanya's family sitting just behind them. I saw all of my friends, and for some soon-to-be-family, from La Push. I saw my best friend sitting next to my daughter, they were holding hands. I saw tons of people Julia was choosing Connor over, and I knew she wouldn't see many of them again.

I took my place at the front of the room. Rosalie started the bride's march, with a million differences and tweaks that Edward had written himself. I met Edward's gaze for half a second, then we both turned to watch Julia walk down the aisle. There were gasps from the crowd as Julia's face came into view. She looked like an angel of course. She kept her eyes down for only half a second, then they were searching for Connor. She seemed to take in the decorations and people, and a second later her eyes were locked with Connor's.

Julia and her father made their way down the aisle slowly but surely, and soon they were standing right in front of me. Julia's father kissed her hand and placed it in Connor's. Julia broke her gaze from Connor's for only a moment as she smiled at me and handed me her bouquet. I took it, and we all turned toward the minister.

The wedding vows were just as Edward's and I's had been almost six years previous. They said their I do's, and upon the magic words, Julia threw her arms around Connor and kissed him squarely on the lips. Everyone was on their feet clapping and cheering, me being the loudest. They broke apart from their kiss, and smiled at each other. They linked hands and turned to face the crowd, who was descending upon them.

Julia embraced her father first. Then her Aunt and Uncle. But never did she and Connor let go of each other's hands. Everyone was still laughing, and Edward and I hooked our fingers together. Just like at our wedding, the ceremony flowed gracefully outside for the reception. It was an exceptionally clear night in Forks, and the lights Alice had hung up around the dance floor were just flickering on as we made our way outside. The DJ was all set up and ready to go, and soon had called the bride and groom out onto the floor for their first dance. Julia and Connor took up their positions on the dance floor, and the song began. I didn't realize what song it was at first, until I realized it was Julia's voice coming out of the speakers. I turned to Edward. He was grinning. It was just Julia and her guitar in the song, and I don't think many people even realized it was Julia singing. It was of course, seeing as Julia wrote it, beautiful.

The song ended with Connor leading Julia into a dip, and kissing her on the lips. It was adorable. The DJ called Julia's father onto the floor next. Connor stepped aside, and Julia's father took up his place. I didn't know the name of the song they danced to, but shortly into the song, the DJ called all fathers and daughters onto the floor.

I looked across a few tables to Charlie. He nodded his head toward the floor, and we went out to join the dance. "I love you daddy," I told him as I began to lead him around the floor.

He smiled at me. "Right back at you Bells."

I looked around at all the fathers and daughters out on the floor. Edward and Nessie were laughing at something as he spun her around the floor. Sam had Jenny balanced on his feet as they danced. Paul and Joel were holding Kristen and Lexi in their arms, and both were smiling. Carlisle was dancing with Alice at the moment, but I'm sure he would switch her with Rosalie soon. The funniest couple dancing was Rachel and Billy. Seeing as Billy was in a wheelchair, they seemed to have decided to just sway on the spot, but they were laughing at the absurdity of what they were doing.

Now that I looked closely, the girls who were pregnant were all starting to show just a little bit. They were almost in their second trimester. I sighed. These next six months were going to be hard ones for everyone. Including my family. We hadn't quite decided what our excuse for Julia's physical changes were going to be, but as of right now, we were leaning toward the lie that she had been in a car accident while on her honeymoon and was put through reconstructive surgery.

Charlie and I continued to spin around the dance floor until the song had ended. Charlie had gotten back almost one hundred percent of the strength in his left forearm. I could feel it in the way he was holding my hand. He had gone back to work as somewhat of a celebrity seeing as he was the first Forks police officer to have ever been shot while on duty.

The song ended, and the DJ started up a much faster one. I led Charlie off the dance floor. He went and took his seat by Sue. They were getting married next month. They weren't having an actual ceremony, just a court house wedding. But he had invited us over for dinner afterwards. We wouldn't eat of course, but he had gotten used to it by now.

The reception went on for hours. Julia and Connor went around and talked to everyone at the tables. They shoved cake into each other's faces, I don't even know if Connor had to swallow any. I don't think Julia did anyway. Edward got it on video tape. After about two-and-a-half hours of partying, Emmett and Jasper wheeled out a plain white screen, and a projector.

This was a surprise we had all been keeping from Connor and Julia since the proposal. The DJ announced that we had a little presentation, and everyone turned to watch the screen. Music started playing out of the speakers. It was very classical, and a slide popped up on the screen. It said; Julia Bird and Connor Cullen. It was in cursive, and a little heart surrounded the names.

All of the sudden, the music changed to a rock song, a rock song that could only remind you of High School. A picture of Connor and Julia sticking their tongues out at us appeared on the screen. I realized I had been the one to take that picture. It was just a little after their sophomore year of High School. They were lying on the hammock in our backyard; at I believe one in the morning.

And on and on it went. Picture after picture after picture. Some funny, some not so funny. There were a few of Julia in the hospital when the Volturi had first given us the ultimatum. Those were the not so funny ones. After the first song was over, a picture turned into a clip. The clip was from this spring when Julia had gone camping with us, and Edward had pulled out the video camera. Nessie had stayed home with Carlisle and Esme that weekend. The clip was brief. It was pretty much a few loud noises and talking, and then Julia and Connor's mouths fall open and they start backing farther toward the other side of the tent. The clip ends with Julia screaming, "What are they doing?!" And Edward was laughing. The clip was only about eight seconds long, because it all happened so fast.

The clip morphed into more pictures and a new song. There was a picture from some of the hiking we had done on the camping trip, one from inside Connor's room, one of them going to their junior and senior prom. Once again, at the end of their song, a new clip came on. I was the cameraman for this one. Last October, we had taken Julia skydiving for her eighteenth birthday. "What are you guys doing?" I asked Connor and Julia. Connor was strapped on Julia's back, and they had their helmets on, ready to jump.

"We're going skydiving," Connor said. "And you had better follow us down."

"This is also known as a failed suicide attempt," Julia said. Right then, the instructor opened the door that they would jump out of.

"Whenever you're ready," he said.

They marched to the door. "Here we go!" Connor yelled. His words were drowned out by Julia's scream as they fell from the plane. The crowd laughed as the next picture and song came on. This song was more grown up, and the pictures were more recent. At the end of this set of pictures, it was the clip Edward had just filmed of them shoving cake in each other's faces. The show ended with a picture of all nine of us just a few days ago and a roll of credits. People clapped and cheered, and Julia and Connor joined in. It had turned out just how we had wanted it.

Julia came over to me then. "How did you guys pull that off?"

I laughed. "I literally raided everyone's cameras and photo albums for the past four weeks."

She laughed. "Well you did a great job."

Soon Julia was tossing the bouquet, right into the waiting arms of the girl I had recognized as Anna. I laughed hysterically as Connor _very_ carefully pulled off the garter on Julia's leg with his teeth. He shot it right into the face of the boy I recognized as Anna's boyfriend. I recalled that Jessica and Mike had caught the bouquet and garter at Edward and I's wedding. They were now married with two children. Perhaps this was a good sign. Love was definitely in the air…

I looked at my watch. It was time for them to be leaving. I walked toward Julia. "Are you ready to go get dressed and be on your way?"I asked her.

She smiled. "Let's go."

I led her through the dance floor and I saw Edward touch Connor's arm to show him that it was time to go. They were just a little behind us on the way up to Connor's room and Alice's bathroom. Once inside Alice's bathroom, I quickly grabbed the outfit I had picked out for Julia to wear. I threw her the light wash jeans, and black ballet flats. Her elbow length, tight but flattering, black tee made her red hair and green eyes pop.

I knew Alice was getting everybody downstairs, I could hear them filing into the living room again, and Emmett and Jasper were handing out the rice bags. I pulled out several of the bobby pins in Julia's hair so the curls hung down around her face. I looked at her and she looked at me for the briefest moment, and I knew in my dead heart that it would be one of our last times together when she was a human.

"Take care of yourself Julia," I told her.

"I will," she leaned in and gave me a hug. I hugged back. "Thanks again Bella."

I let go of her, and grabbed her hand. "C'mon," I said and I pulled her down the stairs after me. Connor was standing there in a short sleeved gray t-shirt, dark wash jeans, and white sneakers. He smiled at her as we jumped the bottom step. The rice throwing started, and Connor and Julia took off running into the clear Forks night. I noticed that most of the rice our dear La Push friends threw hit either Connor or Julia perfectly. They were laughing as they climbed into the car that was taking them to the airport. The last thing I saw before they pulled out was they had their faces by the window, hands together, with the other hand waving at us. It had been the _perfect_ wedding.

"See you Jake!" I called about two hours later. He was the last to be leaving from the wedding. He had stayed to help and clean up. It hadn't taken us long; we do _everything_ fast. Emmett, Jasper, and Edward had gotten the dance floor picked up while we had worked on the house. Tanya, Andrew, Carmen, Eleazor, Kate, and Garrett were staying for a while; they were taking the wedding as an excuse for a visit. We were all ready to get to know Andrew anyway, and help him as much as we could.

Tanya gagged. "I'm sorry," she said. "But that smell is awful."

"Eh," Edward said. "You get used to it."

I plopped down on the couch next to Edward. Kate and Garrett were next to him. Nessie was sitting at Edward's piano going at it. She looked tired, but she played on. I checked my watch, it was nearing midnight. I heard Nessie yawn, and with a sudden stop to her music, she stood up. "I think I'm going to go home," she sighed.

"Do you want us to come with you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I_ think_ I can find it." She gave me her father's smirk.

"I love you," I told her.

"Love you too."

"I love you Renesmee," Edward said.

"Of course…" She flounced off through the back door.

I snuggled into Edward. "Tell me they'll be okay," I suggested.

"They'll be okay," he said very unconvincingly.

"I meant truthfully."

"Yeah, well, I'm no good at lying to you Bella. Even when what I'm saying is a possibility." He looked at me.

I stared at him. "Well…" I sighed. "I'm no good at lying to anyone… and they'll be okay… they will."

He squeezed my shoulder. "I'm sure…"

Just then we heard a scream. There was one moment of silence. "Nessie!" I yelled. Everyone took off out the back door. I was in the lead for only half a second, and then Edward was ahead of me.

"Nessie!" He repeated me.

I was running faster than everyone except Edward. My baby needed me… I heard footsteps sprinting away from us, but all I cared about was finding my daughter. "Nessie!" I yelled again.

Then I saw her. Right outside our front door, Nessie lay crumpled in a heap. Edward and I got to her at almost the same time. We fell to our knees. Me on one side, Edward on the other. Everyone was right behind us. Edward gently rolled her over onto her back, and her hair fell away from her face. What I saw made me want to scream, yell, kill the person that had done this to her. But most of it all it wanted to make me rip my heart out so it couldn't break at the sight of our shattered daughter.

Her lips were one big bloody puff, her eyes were already blackening. Her sweet blood dripped from her broken nose. Her forehead was swelling with a bump as big as a softball. I heard Edward hiss under his breath. I covered my face with my hands… I didn't want to see anymore. I felt the sobs build in my chest, and heard them pouring out. This had gone too far. No matter what happened… I would never forgive the Volturi for this. This would be the last warning… no one hurt my baby.

"Nessie…" Edward moaned. My rock was crumbling at the seams. A click went off in my mind just then. We had to be strong for each other _right now_. I pulled my hands away from my face, and my sobs quieted slightly.

I gazed down at Nessie's body. The beautiful dress she had been wearing was torn across her stomach, and it looked to me like her wrist was broken. Below her hips was covered in dirt… but her legs seemed to be okay.

"Edward…" I gasped. He turned his head up to me. I saw all my pain… sorrow… anger… and fear reflected in his eyes. His teeth were clamped together. I barely saw the rest of my family… they were letting us grieve alone for a moment.

Carlisle stepped forward. "We have to get her home," he said quietly.

Edward and I moved at the same time. I reached out my hand as he lifted his to mine. We linked fingers, and squeezed hard. "Tell us what to do," Rosalie said sharply.

He ripped off his white tie and yanked it apart at the seams so that it formed a square. He tossed it over to us. "Tie it around her head Edward."

Edward picked up the fabric and gently laid it across her mouth and nose. "Emmett call the wolves and get them to run the border. Don't tell them what happened… Jake's not ready for this."

He was right. Jacob would keel over at the sight of Nessie now. "Everyone else… meet me in my office." He knelt down next to us. "Carry her gently Edward…" he reminded him.

Edward stood up and in one fluid motion had Nessie in his arms. I gently grabbed her hot little broken wrist and laid it across her chest. Edward kissed her swollen forehead, and we started running. Everyone was already in Carlisle's office when we got there, and Rosalie had turned on the lights. Edward gently laid our daughter on the table.

Carlisle ran his hands through his hair. "I'm admitting to you now that I'm going to make this up as I go. Nobody hesitate with suggestions."

He took a deep breath and turned to Nessie. "She needs ice on that wrist." Tanya jumped down the flight of stairs to the kitchen. He looked at her face. He put his hand on her nose, and set it so it would heal straight. She moaned in her unconsciousness.

"It doesn't need casting does it?" Edward mumbled.

"No," Carlisle answered him. "It's only a thin fracture. It should be fine in about twenty-four hours." Tanya came back with the ice then. She handed it to me and I laid it on Nessie's wrist. She gasped and twitched a little. "We need to move quickly with the stitches on her lips, she's coming to..."

I grabbed Carlisle's bag from behind me and tossed it to him. Edward ripped the bloody tie off her face. Carlisle immediately went to work. As he stitched, I counted. Five stitches on top, four on bottom. It could have been worse. Her lips were made tender by the injuries they sustained. That's the only reason we could put stitches in them in the first place… Her skin was normally as rock-hard as mine. "Could you clean her up please Bella?" Carlisle asked.

I needed cloth, water, a gentle soap, and rubbing alcohol wipes. I walked calmly across the room and the others scattered as I moved to the cabinet behind them. I grabbed the things I needed, and went back to Nessie. I gently washed away the blood that covered her face, and sterilized the area. Her nose wouldn't see permanent damage at least.

"Let's cast her wrist," Carlisle said. Edward reached into Carlisle's bag and had her wrist wrapped in casting material in seconds. Vampire speed was so much easier. Carlisle mixed the plaster quickly, and I grabbed the bandages out of his bag. I tossed him the lump they had been rolled into, and he began to cast. We were silent as he laid the last bandage down across the top of her wrist, and as we cleared the materials away. I shut the cabinet door and turned around just as Edward turned from the sink where he was rinsing out the plaster. Our eyes met for one moment, and the next moment I was in his arms crying without tears into his shoulder. He ducked his head down, I could feel him shake slightly, and knew he was crying too.

A forever could have passed, and we wouldn't have noticed. Only one sound in the world could have brought us to our senses. Nessie gasped, and moaned. We paused for a second, and broke apart. He left his arm wrapped around my waist, mine around his. We moved to stand by Nessie's head. She twisted her neck a little and her eyes shot open. They were wild with pain for a second, but only that.

They searched upward, and her chocolaty eyes met our faces. "It hurts…" she moaned.

Edward sat down in a chair that was sitting there. I sat down in one opposite. He rubbed the back of his hand across her hair. "I know…" was all he hummed. "But you're safe now… I promise."

She blinked hard and tears fell out of her eyes. "Final warning," she whimpered hoarsely.

Edward and I looked at each other for a moment. I laid my head down next to hers and she turned to face me. "Just remember," I whispered. "That means it's almost over."

She nodded her head slowly, and I saw the wisdom that lay in her eyes; so far beyond her years. "I love you…" she muttered, and she closed her eyes to sleep.

I ran my hand through her hair for a few moments, just until her breathing became slow and deep, and I knew she was asleep. Edward was staring at her face, but met my eyes when I looked to him. We just stared at each other for a while, before I spoke.

"I can't even blame her now, Edward," I told him.

The only sound in the room was the buzz of the lights overhead, and Nessie's breathing. "I know," was all he said. It was silent again. "Let's not tell them," he said suddenly. I watched his face carefully. "They don't need this… not now. We'll be fine until they choose to come back. This is their… their last moments, their last hurrah I guess you could say. We have to give them that."

I nodded my head slowly, and looked down at Nessie. "She'll be okay," I said. "Probably before we are."

It was his turn to nod now. "She's better than me… she'll forgive them before I do."

I sighed. "Edward, I will _never _forgive them. At least not fully." I shook my head. "It's like killing a baby… it's just not right."

He closed his eyes. "Somebody has to tell Jacob…"

I sighed, and stood up. "He's going to freak out, you know he will. He'll probably take it best from me though…"

"Probably," Edward agreed.

I gently brushed my lips across Nessie's forehead. "Besides," I smiled a little. "Someone has to call off the dogs."


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

Edward's lips twitched upward. I was outside a second later. I could hear the others talking quietly to Edward, but didn't listen hard enough to hear what they were saying. I could hear the wolves running just a little while out into the woods.

"Come on!" I yelled as soon as I saw Kaylie. Now everyone knew. I stopped in a small clearing not far away from the house. I could hear the leaves rustling as they phased back into their human forms. One by one they filed into the clearing. A clap of thunder came overhead, and it started to rain. I looked up at the sky… there was one heck of a storm coming.

I turned back to the sixteen young men, and four young women standing before me. Jacob's eyes caught sight of my face, and he was the first to speak. "Was it Edward?" That was all he asked. They had obviously figured out that there had been another attack, and he was guessing at one of the two things that could make me look like this.

I bit my lip; he would figure it out if I said no. "Come here," he said. He opened his arms for a hug and I crashed into them. He would be the one needing a hug in about ten seconds. I pulled away and he set me down on the ground.

"Jacob," I said. He watched my face. "It wasn't Edward who was hurt."

Now it was my turn to watch his face. It went from sympathy, to confusion, and to finally understanding. His breath caught in his throat, and his face crumpled into a mask of pain.

"Jacob!" I said. I grabbed his bare shoulders. His agonized eyes fell to mine. "She's alright, I promise." His face relaxed some.

"I… I want to see her," he stumbled.

I nodded my head. "Okay Jake," I took a deep breath and gagged a little. I forgot how awful it smelt when they were together. "But I'm going to tell you right now… Her eyes are black, her nose was broken… and her lips were a big bloody lump. She has nine stitches in them. She has a broken wrist too."

He hung his head down. "Did it hurt her…" he gasped.

"I'm not going to lie to you," I admitted. "She woke up, and she said it hurt. But… she fell asleep on her own. So the pain wasn't too awful."

I saw him wipe the back of his cheek off with his hand. "Ok," was all he could muster.

"Jacob," I said. The thunder clapped hard above us and it began to rain hard. I waited while he slowly lifted his gaze to mine. "Sometimes… sometimes we just need a minute to fall apart. Jake… Edward and I were crumbling at the seams. I'm not going to blame you… or freak out on you… if you need to take that minute."

And that was all he needed. He fell to his knees at my feet, and curled himself into a ball. I dropped down by him, and just rested my arms on his back, my head on my arms. He needed me here. Needed to know he wasn't alone in this agony. The rain fell harder on us. I tried talking to him.

"The hardest part of tonight," I told him. I sniffed. "Was… watching Edward fall apart like he did at the sight of her." I sighed. "I was falling myself… and it felt like my rock was literally crumbling beneath me. He was." I breathed again. "But… we pulled ourselves together enough to get her home… and get her injuries tended to." My shoulders shook at the memory. "Then we… we lost it again. Right then and there." I sighed. "So you just take your time Jake, because she'll need you when you're there. A broken man with a mask over his face is almost worse than having the broken man. Trust me; I know firsthand how that feels."

He stopped shaking. His head jerked up. "He was falling then too, Bella… you mean so much to him. I can see that now."

I snorted. "Oh, Jacob how long have I waited for you to say that? You were never one to rush anything were you?" I tapped his back with my finger tips. "But look at us now, Jake. We came through that dark time… And Julia and Connor _will_ come through theirs. They just had to get through it this way… their way."

He lifted his face to mine. "I don't even know Julia that much Bella," he sighed. "But… I feel her pain as she struggles. She's… she's that girl you used to be. The girl that just had to have it hard from the beginning."

I looked at his eyes. "That was a life time ago wasn't it?"

"I'm pretty sure it was two," he joked.

I smiled slightly. "That's one thing I've learned though… in my almost twenty-four years. You can't look back… even if it means you have to run forward with your eyes closed."

He smirked. "Good advice. Can I go see your daughter now?"

"Remember to be quiet, she's asleep." We took off running for the house together, and I heard the others decide to head back home for the night. Leah and Brooke shouldn't be out in this anyway…

I let Jacob set the pace, and just jogged along with him. I let him in the back door and led him up the stairs. The door to Carlisle's office door was still open, and I went in. I felt the pain hit me again as I saw her lying there, but it only overcame me for the second. I glanced at my family, still standing away from Edward and Nessie, then went to stand behind Edward. I put my hands on his shoulders, and he sat back into his chair. I ran my hands back and forth across his shoulders absentmindedly. Jacob had paused in the doorway.

He looked at Nessie, closed his eyes for a moment, and leaned his head back. He stood like that for about two seconds, then opened his eyes and strode calmly over to us. He was on the other side of the table, just standing there, looking at Nessie's face. He brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, and sat down in the chair I had vacated when I went to go get him.

He leaned forward in his chair, and rested his elbows on his knees, his chin in his hands. He just watched Nessie, waiting for her to wake up. That's what we were all doing. The only other movement that night was Nessie and Jacob's chests going up and down, and near dawn I moved to sit in Edward's lap, I needed to feel his arms around me. I needed to know that we were going to be okay.

Nessie started to stir around six thirty the next morning. It had stormed the whole night with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Nessie's head twitched, and then her eyes shot open. She gasped, and sat bolt upright. We were all kind of taken aback.

"Oh!" she said. She moaned and fell back down onto the table.

"Ness?" I said. She moved her eyes up to me. She blinked hard and a tear fell out of it. I stood up off Edward's lap and kneeled down next to her arm so she wouldn't have to look up to talk to me. I wiped the tear off her cheek.

"It hurts," she said in a hoarse voice.

I nodded my head. "I'm so sorry sweetheart."

She took a deep breath and winced. "What hurts?" I asked her.

"I think… I think my muscles are kind of sore." She knocked her left hand on the table. "This isn't the softest thing to sleep on you know."

"I'm sure it isn't," I said.

She closed her eyes for a moment more. "Lay it on me," she sighed. "What's wrong with me? Because honestly, my face kind of feels like it was beaten with an iron bar."

I took a deep breath. "Well," I began. "Both of your eyes are black. Your nose is slightly fractured, and you have nine stitches in your lips. Your right wrist is broken."

She winced again. "Yep, that's pretty much what it feels like." She sighed again. "Hello Jacob," she said without looking at him.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Sounds like you've had a rough night," she stated.

He chuckled. "Mm," he said. "Not as rough as yours."

"Ah, I 'm alright, I'm tough," she told him.

He laughed again. "That you are," he agreed.

"Daddy?" Nessie said.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Don't tell them. Please, just don't tell them about this. Don't ruin their honeymoon. They need to enjoy it."

Looking at my daughter, I knew that in her beat a golden heart. Like Edward had said before, she's better than me. She's better than all of us. She's as innocent as a baby, but as wise and mature as someone who's lived a hundred years. She was ours, and that's all I needed to make her perfect.

"I won't tell them honey, we agree with you on that." He laid his head by hers like I had done hours before. "I'm sorry," he told her.

"Why are you sorry?" She asked.

He thought for a moment. "I suppose I'm sorry you're hurt like this. Sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

"It's alright," she muttered.

"But I broke a promise," he reminded her. She looked at him questioningly. "When you were little," he explained. "I promised you that I would never_ ever_ let anyone hurt you."

She took a deep breath. "Daddy, I remember a lot of things. I remember that promise. You didn't break it, not to me at least." Now he looked at her questioningly. "Don't you see?" she asked. "If you had kept me from not knowing pain my whole life, from not knowing hardships, I wouldn't be ready when real pain comes. Everyone has to feel pain at some point or another, in different ways. You would have been hurting me if you had kept me unharmed for the rest of forever. Like I said, I'm tough. You've made me that way. I'm glad for that."

We were all quiet after that. "You know, Renesmee," he said. "You amaze me every day. More than you know."

She blinked. "I love you," she said.

He stroked her hair. "I love you too."

"Can we go home? I'm actually tired if you can believe that," she asked.

"I can believe it," I said.

"And…" Edward started. "If you feel up to moving, I'm sure we can take you home."

She yawned. She turned her head to Jacob. "Jake," she started. "I love you man, but I would love it more if you would go home and sleep. You look like you could sleep for days, but I'm sure you'll only allow yourself a few hours." She patted his cheek, and I'm sure he got a glimpse of something.

What happened next made me gasp. She pulled his face down to hers, and kissed him on the lips. I heard Edward gasp along with me, and we turned to face each other. His lips were pressed together, and his eyes wide. I knew mine looked completely in shock. He turned around so his back was to them, and folded his arms across his chest. I put my head down to my chest as far as it would go, and squeezed my eyes shut. This all happened in about the three longest seconds in recorded history.

I heard them break apart. "Well, that's one way to have a first kiss," Jake muttered.

"Yeah," Nessie agreed. "But slightly near-death experiences make you realize what you're going to wish you'd done when you had the chance."

He snorted. "I suppose they would."

"Are you _done_?" Edward asked.

"Yes sir," Nessie said.

I picked my head up as Edward turned around slowly. I watched his face. He lifted his arm and pointed out the door. "The door is that way Mr. Black," he said slowly and carefully.

Jacob smirked, and raised his hands in the air. "Don't shoot," he joked under his breath. He kept his arms raised as he walked out the door. I heard him slip out the back door. I stood up, and went to stand by Edward. He still had his arms crossed, and was staring down at Nessie. I folded my arms as well, and looked down at our daughter. She was staring at the ceiling with a small smile on her lips, avoiding our eyes.

I glanced at Edward. I knew he was thinking about the talk we had had a few weeks ago. He turned towards me, and dropped his arms. He folded them behind his back. I shrugged my shoulders. "It's up to you," I reminded him. I was struggling to keep my face straight.

His eyes twitched, and he smirked at me. "I'm just gonna go at it," he said quickly. Without further ado, he turned to Nessie, and she kept her eyes deliberately on the ceiling. "I'm giving it to you straight Ness," he told her. "I don't want you having sex until your married, but that's your decision. Let me warn you, consider every option before you decide anything. You're a smart girl, Renesmee, and I'd trust you with a lot more than my life, but make good decisions alright?"

She turned to him with bewildered eyes. "'Kay!" she said shortly. I heard most of the people behind me start snickering.

"Ready to go home?" he asked her.

She nodded her head, with her eyes still wide. He scooped her up into his arms, and walked out the door. I slapped my hand to my forehead. That was one way of doing things…

That afternoon, Edward and I were sitting on our front steps while Nessie slept. Only a drizzle was left of the storm. We had been silent for a few minutes. He sighed. "You know what this means?" He said in a shaky voice. "Everything that happened when we were up there?" I felt him gesture toward the house. I looked up at him. He took a deep breath. "This means that this is the beginning of losing our little girl."

I nodded my head slowly. "I know," I whispered, and I fell into his strong embrace.

Nessie ended up sleeping the rest of the day, and the whole next night. By the time she woke up, it was early Monday morning, and her nose had healed up nicely. She had honestly slept through most of the healing process. Her blackened eyes were fading, and Carlisle had told her he would most likely take the stitches out on Friday, so they had a good six days to heal up. Her wrist would take some time to heal, but she said she didn't mind the cast too much. When she was ready to get up and moving, we were going to take her back over to the big house.

We stayed with her while we ran, and I noticed that she was going slower than usual. She was probably still sore.

"Well hey there sleepy head," Alice said as we walked in through the back door. Everyone, including the Denali's who were staying for another two weeks, was sitting in the living room, doing a variety of different things. The only one missing was Carlisle, who was working a double shift at the hospital.

Nessie yawned. "I didn't know how much sleep I was capable of getting until I got so much."

She looked over at Edward's piano, and then seemed to decide to go ahead and play it. She started playing the same way her father did; play something familiar, and then let your mood take you where it wants to go next. That's how he wrote his songs, and I know she had picked up on his habit by watching him so much. She played the lullaby Edward had written for her when she was still a baby, and it morphed into a calm melody Edward had been working on.

I noticed something about the way she was playing. Not that it wasn't good; it just wasn't up to her normal standard. I decided not to say anything, maybe she was still tired. The peaceful music was changing again. It was turning into a creation of her own, and it was angry, frustrated. She finally just hit her hands on the piano, playing several notes at once.

"What's wrong Nessie?" Edward asked her casually.

She put her hand on the piano keys, and turned to face the couch where we sat. "I can't play while wearing this cast. At least, not well."

Edward thought for a moment. "Here," he said as he walked over to the piano. "I'll play left hand, you play right."

She sighed. "I don't know what I'm playing yet."

"I'll catch on," he assured her.

Together they played, and Edward was right, he did catch on. For the next fifteen minutes, they just played whatever popped into Nessie's head next. They only stopped when they were playing a _very_ fast tune and they had to stop because they were laughing so hard at racing each other to see who could play fastest.

They stood up then, and Edward came over to stand where I was in the doorway to the kitchen. I checked my watch; it was earlier than I had thought. Six am wasn't normal for Nessie, especially on the last day of June. Her sleeping schedule must have been screwed up because of sleeping all day and night.

Edward's cell phone rang just then. "Hello?" He said immediately.

"Hi," Leah's voice said. "This is Leah."

"What's going on Leah?" Edward asked immediately.

"Well," she said. "We are in the middle of the woods, way down by the river, and Brooke is having trouble breathing."

That's not good. Trouble breathing in a pregnancy was normal in the third trimester, and at the beginning of the first trimester. But at the beginning of the second trimester… it wasn't unheard of, but it wasn't exactly common.

"Is she sitting or standing?"

"Sitting, with her knees slightly up to her chest."

"If she's strong enough to stand, have her stand. If she feels dizzy, make her lay flat on her back. We're coming."

"Good-bye again!" I called as we sprinted out the door. I picked up their scent about four seconds after Edward slammed the door behind us. I could hear them talking within a minute and a half. They were all there, every single wolf. Everyone was in their human forms, and I could feel that most of them were stressed out. I could hear Brooke's short, shallow breaths, and Leah was trying to calm her. Embry was silent, but I saw as we burst through the last of the trees, that he was holding her hand.

One look at Brooke told me she was losing her battle with breathing. Her face was very pale, even slightly blue. Her breaths were becoming shorter and faster, rather than slower and longer, and I could tell she was panicking.

"Hi," was all Edward said as we fell to our knees by Brooke.

Brooke's eyes were rolling slightly, and she was physically shaking as she tried to breathe. Now, I knew from my experience as a nurse that shortness of breath in pregnancy was mostly mental. Woman would feel pressure and tightness, and feel like it was constricting their airways. This seemed to be the case with Brooke, but Edward was definitely hearing something in her thoughts.

"Um," Edward said. He ran his fingers through his hair. "She thinks that there is a possibility that she is having Braxton Hicks contractions."

"Shoot," I said.

"I'm going to feel your abdomen to tell you if your thoughts are correct, Brooke," Edward said a little more loudly. "Bella, try to get her to breathe."

I moved closer to her head. "Ok," I began. "Brooke," I tapped her face with my hand. She looked to me blearily. "Everything's going to be okay. You're fine right now alright? Try to focus on me." I put my hand just below her chest. "I want you to focus every part of your energy into making my hand go up as far as you can make it go." She started immediately. At first, my hand was going up only slightly, but as I encouraged her, it started going up farther and farther until finally, she was breathing somewhat normally again. "There you go," I said. I removed my hand.

"Ow," she sighed.

"What hurts?" Edward asked curiously.

She thought for a moment. "From about my hips to my rib cage, but the muscles, not the bones."

He sighed. "Yep," he crossed his arms. "That is unfortunately what severe Braxton Hicks contractions feel like."

She blinked. "Why is that unfortunate?"

He sighed again. "Because Braxton Hicks contractions usually lead up to actual labor. So they could be coming at you for a while."

"That's so…" she trailed off. "Sucky. What can I do to make them stop?"

"Well," he slid off his knees and put them up to his chest a little. "They're usually caused by stress, and dehydration. The dehydration should be taken care of if you lay down with your feet up, and drink a lot of water. In fact," he pointed his finger at Embry. "That's your job."

"Now," he said. "What are you stressed about?"

She put her hand up to her forehead and brushed her hair back. She didn't meet his eyes when she said, "I am having an unplanned baby at twenty years old, and I am terrified. That would usually stress someone out."

Edward took a few deep breaths. I saw Embry's hand squeeze Brooke's. "If you can believe it," Edward started. "I know what unplanned pregnancy feels like, and you're definitely right, it would stress anyone out."

"So how do you get past the stress?"

"It's hard, and you may never get rid of it fully." He looked at me. "You just have to relax, get the thoughts that stress you out away from your mind and body."

"You have to realize, Brooke," Leah spoke up. "That no matter what happens; your baby is going to love you even before it's born. You and Embry. Babies don't care about anything but what they want. And all it wants now is for you to relax, and not put pressure on it. Oh, and it wants you to breathe."

"Yeah…" Brooke said. "My stomach felt all tight, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. Then when the Braxton Hicks started, I got scared, and panicked. That didn't really help."

"Probably not," Leah said. "I'm curious, have you guys picked out names yet?"

Embry spoke up. "We're pretty set on Marcus John and Madison Faith."

"Those are cute," I said.

"What about everyone else?" Leah asked.

"We like Kelsey Renee and Corey Matt," Jared said.

I nodded. "We like Allison Grace and Ryan Joel," Sam said.

"Name him that," Joel said.

"What about you Paul?" Leah asked.

"We like Joshua Kyle and Elizabeth Anne," Paul said with a yawn.

"My mother's name was Elizabeth," Edward said. "I like that name."

"Then why didn't you name Nessie that?" Lauren asked.

I looked at her. "He didn't really have much say in what we named Nessie. He didn't argue with me."

Edward shook his head, and looked down. "I didn't care enough to."

Everyone was quiet. "I don't understand how you cannot care what your baby's name is," Jared said.

"Then you don't understand what it was like to be there," Jacob said bluntly. He raised one eyebrow slightly.

There was a longer moment of silence. "I always forget Jacob was there," I said just as bluntly.

"Oh yeah," Edward said. "So do I. Then the truth comes crashing down around me."

"I feel loved," Jacob said sarcastically.

"What about you Leah?"

"Well," she patted her stomach. "We've got either a Cole Andrew or a Paige Olivia."

"Mm," I said. "I like all those names…"

"How's Nessie?" Jacob asked.

"She woke up," Edward said. "Her nose is fine, the bruising around her eyes is going down pretty well, we're cutting the stitches out Friday night, and her cast will come off in a few weeks."

I nodded. "That's the physical part," Jacob stated.

I looked at Edward. "Well…" he said. "She's… um… Our daughter's tough, okay?"

"I know that," Jacob said calmly.

"Then you also know that she's never been one to show any sign of weakness. If she's scared, she's not going to tell anyone, and she'll do her very best to keep it from Jasper. She…" He looked at me. "More than anything, she doesn't want us to know she's scared. She thinks we'll be disappointed."

I felt my mouth fall open slowly. Of course; living with vampires… When you weren't one of them… I remembered how that felt. But while I had done it for only a few years, and for different reasons; Nessie had been born into it. She'd never known anything else.

I blinked. "She…" I said quietly. "Edward, she knows that she's always been the weakest link. She knows that she's always _going to be_ the weakest link."

He cursed under his breath. "You're right," he said a minute later. He put his head down, I knew he was thinking. "Our child is not weak, Bella, she never has been."

"I know that…" I said. "She's the strongest person I know, and I live with vampires, so that's saying something."

"It's like I said before," he muttered. "She's so much better than any of us…"

"I think we should talk to her…" I sighed.

"Yeah…" he agreed. "You know…" He said. "I don't think I've ever told her how I know the exact minute… maybe even second I started loving her."

"I know when that is," I said.

"So do I," Jacob said roughly. I had forgotten the others were even around. "You filthy traitor," he called Edward aggressively.

Edward turned his head slowly to Jacob, and back to me. "Sounds regretful, doesn't he?" Edward asked me sarcastically.

"You know I'm not," Jacob said more calmly. "But nobody forgets that feeling, not even after it's all over."

I thought about that. I knew Jacob had been a mess during my pregnancy… we all had been. The moment Edward had started loving Nessie must have been the moment Jacob had felt he was all alone. That must have been terrible.

Edward was silent as well. "I'll give you that," he admitted.

"And I'll give you the fact that I _was_ only joking about calling you a traitor."

"Oh, I know you were," Edward said. "But I suppose you were right… I sort of was a traitor to you, wasn't I?"

He scoffed. "Only a little," he said sarcastically.

"On a different note," Leah said loudly. We all turned to her. "Can I ask you a personal question?" She was looking at Edward and I.

We glanced at each other. "Sure," he said. "But you might not get a very personal answer."

"Can Nessie have kids?" She asked bluntly.

Oh. "Yeah that is a personal question," Jacob said, turning to us.

"Wow," Leah said. "He doesn't know the answer does he?"

"No, probably not," Edward responded. "You want to take this one Bella?" He smirked.

"Uh…" I said. "Well… um…" How did I do this? "Okay," I cut myself off. "We're pretty sure she can, we being Edward and I, but as of right now; we're not looking into the matter any… further."

There was silence after my voice stopped ringing. "Those would be some jacked up babies," Edward blurted out loudly. "Big responsibility…" he said loudly again. "Bigger than anything that's ever happened before…" He looked at Jacob out of the corner of his eyes.

I saw Jacob roll his eyes and heard the sigh under his breath. "Look," he said. "I'm not going to have sex with your daughter!"

"There's what I was looking for!" Edward said joyfully. He smirked at Jacob. I smiled. At least they could joke about it…

"At least not before some… serious consideration…" Jacob trailed off.

"C'mon Edward," I said standing up and brushing off my jeans. "Let's go home, we have guests."

"Family is not a guest," Edward said as he stood up along with me. "But I suppose you're right, we should go home." We turned to leave. "I was going to tell you," he said suddenly. "There is a very high population of white-tailed deer just at the Northern Oregon border."

I stopped in my tracks. He knew white-tailed deer were my favorite… "Why are we still standing here?" I demanded.

"That's my girl!" he said with a laugh. He grabbed me by the waist and spun me around. "I was thinking…" he said. "Maybe we could all go up there… just for a day or two. Not only would we have some serious fun, but I think we could show Andrew that we aren't totally crazy to do what we do."

"Great idea," I said breathlessly. He was still holding me in the air; my body was pressed against his so our faces were even with each other. I couldn't help it; I leaned in and kissed him.

I should have known that I wouldn't have gotten away with just a peck on the lips, but it still surprised me every time he made the move to deepen a kiss. I heard a variety of sounds coming from the wolves, which most sounded like complaints. I didn't care… I was kissing Edward.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

"Just shield your eyes, kids, shield your eyes," I heard Joel say loud enough for everyone to hear. Edward broke away, and we didn't miss a beat as we grabbed hands and set off for the big house.

Edward's idea was a success immediately. We were going to leave early the next morning. We spent the rest of the day throughout the house, doing different things with each other. Emmett scared the un-living daylights out of me and Tanya when he jumped out of the shower in Alice's bathroom. We hadn't known he was there, though we would have if we would have just paid closer attention to our noses.

We took Nessie home around ten. Even after all the sleep she had gotten over the weekend, she was exhausted by that time. I was in the living room reading a book at our cottage, and Edward was in our room talking to one of his foreign friends from Spain. I had never met these vampires, but I could tell Edward knew them pretty well. I had picked up quite a bit of Spanish after Nessie was born, and was pretty fluent in it now.

Edward hung up the phone just as I heard Nessie lay down in bed after brushing out her long hair. With only one glance at me, Edward walked from our room, over to Nessie's partially closed door, and said, "Knock, knock." He tapped the door lightly.

"You can come in," Nessie said sleepily.

Her door creaked as Edward pushed it open. They were silent for a moment, but Edward said, "Do you remember what I used to do every night before you went to bed?" He asked her.

There was silence again. She sighed. "You used to come talk to me, about whatever was on my little girl mind, and make me feel better. Then you would sing my lullaby until I fell asleep."

"Mind if I relive the past for a night?"

"Not at all," she said.

I heard him crawl into her bed with her, and I knew he was sitting up, and she was cuddled up next to him. I had seen it done many times when she was younger.

"You were a lot smaller the last time we did this, huh?" He said to her.

"Quite a bit," she agreed. They were silent again. "The smaller you are," Nessie said. "The smaller everything is. Every problem or worry can disappear with the flick of a hand. But now… it's not always like that anymore."

"I know what you mean," Edward said. "It seems like one day you wake up and you're not a kid anymore, you don't have kid problems. Life throws them at you fast, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," she agreed. They were silent for the longest moment yet. I knew they were both thinking.

"I remember when your mom got pregnant with you…" Edward trailed off. This seemed to open up a flood gate in Nessie.

"Daddy," Nessie said, and I was shocked to hear tears in her voice. "Why didn't you want me?"

Edward sighed. "I think…" he said. "I'll do my best to explain, alright?"

"'Kay," she said.

"I loved, and still do love your mom with a burning passion," he began. "Nessie, I would have done anything for her. Every move I made was for your mom. Everything I did was trying to protect her, to keep her safe. I never wanted anyone to hurt her, for any reason.

"When your mom got pregnant, my world came literally crashing down around me. She was going to die, and it was going to be my fault. Everything I had worked for, everything that meant anything to me, was dying with your mom.

"You were _so much _stronger than she was, and you were killing her. She fought for you from the very beginning, which I know now I should have done. Even though none of it was your fault, it was mine if anyone's, I hated you. Not because of who you were, but because of what you were doing to survive. I couldn't even look at you as a baby I had created until something that changed everything happened.

"One day, your mom was getting stronger from drinking blood at this time; we were sitting in the living room. Your mom and I had been talking a moment before, and all of a sudden, I heard something. I thought it was your mom at first, but I soon realized what was going on; I could hear your thoughts.

"From that point on, everything in my whole world stopped. For one second, I listened to your thoughts. What I heard made every part of me stop hating you. You loved your mom, and I loved your mom. You didn't want to hurt her, and I didn't want to see her hurt. We were on the same team, Renesmee.

"Everything was different then. You liked the sound of our voices even before you were born. You loved me as well, and I knew I could never feel anything but the same back at you. Nessie, the first time I held you… Sweetie, I was still wondering if your mom was going to come out of the transformation alright at this point. But when Alice put you in my arms, you literally had me wrapped around your little finger. I swore to myself that very moment that I would always love you, protect you, and never let anything happen to you.

"And the rest," he said simply. "Is history."

They were silent, and I could feel the twinge of unshedable tears in my eyes. "I can't…" Nessie started. "Pretend to even have a clue what that whole time must have felt like. But… I can understand your feelings toward me. I don't know why it even mattered so much to me, you've never done anything but love me as far as I can recall. Some thoughts just weigh on the mind though, you know?"

He laughed. "I know," he said.

"I love you daddy," she sighed.

"I love you too, honey." And he started to sing her lullaby. It was different from mine, yet just as beautiful, and just as meaningful. He only sang for a few minutes, she fell asleep almost instantly. As he shut the door behind her, our eyes met. I could see the tears that would never fall in his eyes, and I knew he could see them in mine.

We woke Nessie up at five am the next morning; we wanted to be running by six, and to be in Oregon by eight at the latest. Edward would probably be so far ahead he'd be there by seven thirty…

I wore a pale pink zip-up hoodie, and dark blue jeans. Under my hoodie was a white v-neck button-up that I hadn't worn before, but I liked the way it felt. I caught Edward watching me as I buttoned it up, and I knew I was right in assuming that he would like it.

I laced up my boots and pulled my hair into a long ponytail. Nessie came out of her room wearing dark jeans and hiking boots like mine, along with a bright purple zip-zip up sweatshirt. Edward was in a similar outfit as us, only his was a navy blue pullover hoodie and dark khaki cargo pants. We ran over to the house at top-speed. Nessie seemed to have gained back most of her strength.

When we opened the back door, everyone was in the kitchen waiting for us. They were all in similar attires. On a short-hunting trip, it wouldn't matter what we wore. But since we were going to be gone for a couple of days… Well, you try to layer your clothes.

We all stayed within a few miles of each other on the way there. Esme only had to slow down a little to hang back with Nessie. We had to run up an extremely steep, almost vertical mountain at one point, and we eventually had to start climbing. I 'accidently' dropped a few rocks on Emmett's head as we went, and Tanya 'accidently' lost her grip and fell all the way back to the bottom, taking Carlisle with her. We loved joking with each other.

Perhaps the funniest part of the journey was when Edward jokingly started singing military drill songs, and scared a whole tree of birds into the air as we sprinted past. We all quieted down as we got our first whiff of the deer. I smelled another something on the wind. I recognized it as the smell of other vampires, vampires I didn't know. Probably just a coven passing through. I'm sure the others smelled it too, but must have had the same opinion as me. The area we were hunting in was highly wooded.

We didn't talk all morning as we captured animal after animal, sucking them dry. I got a handful of deer myself, and Edward got quite a few mountain lions. I saw Nessie take down a moose that must have been three times her weight, but she took it down viciously. We met up around noon and agreed we were going to split up. Some of us were going to head up into the mountains for the rest of the day, and the others would stay back and hunt a little more around here. We would meet here tonight around eleven to take a break. Nessie would be sleeping by then. Edward, Nessie, Esme, Carlisle, Tanya, Andrew, and I were all staying back in the wooded area. Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Kate, Garrett, Carmen, and Eleazor were all going up into the mountains.

The afternoon went much the same as the morning. Around ten o'clock that night, all of us that had stayed back in the woods met up in an open clearing. We had planned with the others to meet here around eleven, but Nessie was getting tired, so we decided to call it quits a little early. Edward and I took off our sweatshirts and laid them out next to each other. Nessie curled up her legs and fell asleep almost instantly on top of them. We had done it this way for other camping trips. She used to sleep in our arms though. She was much too big for that now. Only about an inch shorter than me.

About twenty minutes later, we all became quiet as wind blew in around our faces. Naturally, I breathed in through my nose. Edward and I jumped to our feet at the same time the others did. They had smelled it too. There were other vampires near us, and from the smell of it, they had just hunted. Edward was thinking six steps ahead of me. He ran over to Nessie at top speed and shook her awake with one hand over her mouth so she wouldn't say anything when she woke up. She looked very confused, but went in the direction Edward pointed her. With Nessie… you never knew how someone was going to react. It was just better to not have her there. We came together as a group in the center of the clearing as I heard the feet of those coming.

Within seconds, I knew that we were going to be outnumbered. There were six of us, and by the sounds of it, there were at least ten of them. My sense of self-preservation was what made me put my shield over the six of us. In the back of my mind I had a brief panic attack at the thought that Nessie wasn't mentally protected, but I brought myself back to the approaching coven.

The next seconds brought them to the very edge of the clearing. I had been right, through the darkness of the cloudy night; I saw ten pairs of bright red eyes. Some of them even looked like newborns. I hadn't seen eyes like those since Connor…

"This territory is claimed," said a man's voice from the darkness. I could see that he was in the center of the line, and he looked to be the oldest by the shade if his crimson eyes.

"Our apologies," Carlisle said, taking the lead. "We were not aware."

"_Ob_viously," sneered a woman's shrill voice from somewhere in the line. "We've seen you here all _day_."

Carlisle said nothing. "We saw what you were doing," said the man's voice again. "We didn't like it."

"And _what _part of what we were doing bothered you?" Edward spoke up. I recognized the controlled anger in his voice, but knew no one else would.

Several of them laughed. I picked out the woman with the shrill voice as one of them. "You are not, _natural_," she drawled. She had a slight French accent.

"Perhaps not," Edward admitted. "But fear of the unknown is not something I recommend."

A few of them hissed. "We _are not,_ _afraid_!" The man's voice said again. I didn't like where this was going.

I saw two of the vampires hanging back on either end of the line. They kept stealing glances at each other.

"My apologies," Edward said. "We were not informed of your braveries."

They were silent. Now they were all looking at the man in the middle. He looked offended, and menacing. Before I knew what had happened, the man had touched his forefinger and thumb together, and the silence exploded.

It all happened very fast. There was one mighty hiss from the group, and they were upon us. I saw from the corner of my eye that Edward was immediately attacked from both sides. He had anticipated this I'm sure, heard it in their thoughts. A tiny looking red head was fighting with me. I gathered that she was a newborn within the first second. From a memory far away, I went back to a clearing… '_Just don't attack them head on… don't let them getting their arms around you…'_ Jasper's voice rang hollowly through my brain.

The red head was hissing at me, trying to get her arms around my middle. Out of pure instinct I was hissing back, holding her arms away from me. I let my mind take over. I took my leg and gave her a blow in the stomach. The sound of the collision boomed around us. She hissed even louder, but on her off-guard moment, I grabbed her arm and swung her around me by it. With a hard yank, it detached. She screamed in agony. Venom flowed into my mouth, and I lunged at her. She was pinned on the ground, and I grabbed her other arm and pulled as hard as I could. The shredding sound was all around me now, but there was no way of knowing who was shredding whom.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had the girl's head and ripped at it. I knew I had won before her scream had died away. With a last feeble attempt her legs wound themselves around me, but they were detached before I could even deduce that she was still fighting.

Somebody had a fire going, and I saw Esme throw a large chunk of a body into it. I started to gather the red head's remains. As I threw her torso into the fire, I heard a howl of pain that made me freeze where I was. I knew that voice… better than I knew my own. Edward.

I took one step automatically toward the sound of his yell, but before I moved consciously, two feet swung out of the tree above him. A mane of long, curly, bronze hair that was swept into a ponytail literally landed on one of the girls attacking Edward. I heard the shrill voice shriek, and I knew who was hurting Edward.

With a high-pitched hiss, I heard Nessie scream, "Get off my dad!"

She had rolled off the woman's shoulders and grabbed her from behind before I even knew what was going on. With a raging fury in her eyes, Nessie threw the woman against a tree, which cracked, and fell to the ground. The woman was back on her feet and on top of Nessie in the next second.

That was as far as it went for me. A hiss escaped my mouth as I attacked the woman. I was shredding her before she had even had time to blink. First her arms… and her legs… Nessie came from behind me and ripped her head off with a triumphant, "Yes!" She helped me throw the pieces into the fire. And I turned to see who else might need help.

It seemed everyone else was fine though. My assistance was late. The others, who had been in the mountains, had arrived some time when Nessie and I were shredding that useless lump of a vampire to pieces. My eyes scanned around the clearing. Jasper… Alice… Emmett… Rose...Carlisle… Esme… Carmen… Eleazor… Kate… Garrett… Tanya… Andrew… Nessie…

Edward? Edward! He was slumped against a tree, with one of his arms dangling loosely in its socket. I ran to him. His head was down to his heaving chest.

"Edward!" I shrieked. This brought everyone's attention to him. I got there first, and knelt beside him. He groaned, and flopped his head onto my shoulder. I saw in a blur everyone else crowd around him. Carlisle was by his dangling arm.

I put my hand up to Edward's head, and rubbed his hair soothingly. His red t-shirt that had been under his sweatshirt was in shreds around him. Carlisle was staring fixedly at Edward's arm, but not touching it.

"It's healing," he said to no one in particular.

Edward's chest stopped moving for one second, and in a shaky whisper, he breathed, "_Owwwwww…"_

"It's going to be okay," I told him soothingly. "I promise. I'll stay here with you."

We were quiet, he moaned a little, "Hey," he said, slightly louder. "Can you thank Nessie? She saved my life…"

"I think she heard you," I told him quietly. "She's right here, everyone's okay."

"That-!" And for the first time I heard my daughter call someone a name worthy of her father's words. My eyes widened as I wrenched my gaze from Edward to her face. She looked furious. "I heard everything she said to you. And she ripped my cast off!" She glanced down at her wrist, which was wrapped loosely in the casting material still.

A few people chortled. Edward huffed out his air. "_For the love of all things holy this hurts!_" He said this to just me. He let out a swear word. "You know," he whispered with a gasp. "She's just like you…"

I smiled weakly. "How so?"

"Never doing what I tell her," he said without missing a beat.

I smirked. "I'm pretty independent…"

"I know…" he sighed. He cursed again. "Hey," he said between winces. "At least now I can say I've had my arm ripped off."

I laid my head on top of his. I stared off into the trees. I did a double-take. There were two pairs of bright red eyes staring at me.

"Hey!" I yelled. I hissed.

The two vampires who had been at the end of the line before came out of the darkness and into the clearing.

A few people sank into crouches, including Nessie, who hissed. The female put her hands up by her face. My gosh she was young. "Don't hurt us!" she pleaded.

The young man beside her had his hands raised as well. He looked a bit older. "Just hear us out," he suggested.

Carlisle stood up. "You have the floor."

They slowly put their hands down. "I'm Andrea Conway," the girl said.

"And I'm Zach Lawrence," the boy said.

Andrea had dirty blonde hair, somewhere between Connor's and Rosalie's, but much darker than Jasper's. Her face was round, and she looked like the type of girl who everyone had liked, but never paid much attention to. She had a slightly round stomach, but it matched her hips and legs well. She was only a little bigger than Alice; the poor thing probably wasn't growth-stagnant when she was bitten. Her blood-red eyes were big, and they accented her nose and mouth well. Zach had hair as black as Alice's, and looked to have been frozen around sixteen or seventeen. His face was oval-shaped, and his features small. He seemed to be exactly Edward's height.

They looked at each other. "We were both… made like this…" Zach started. "About a year ago. Um… we… were not the first that Patrick and Mary… changed."

"They were…" continued Andrea. "Well, I suppose you could say they were forming a group of followers. An army of sorts." Wow, hadn't heard _that_ one before. Right…

"They," said Zach. "Were seeking protection. From what I gathered… they were… nomadic. They were not new at their lifestyle, but quite tired of it. They felt constantly outran by other… covens… And they didn't like that."

"This was not the first time they have ordered us to fight," Andrea said. "Several of us… were already killed off."

They were silent. "So…" Alice said. "Why didn't you fight this time?"

They both sighed at the same time. "Because we're tired of it!" Zach said. "We're tired of killing… humans… vampires… We don't want to live like that."

"You," Andrea said. "You weren't killing like we were. Taking away innocent lives, ripping people's family's apart. You…"

She had her eyes narrowed at us curiously. "Perhaps I can explain," Carlisle said. And so he told her about our lifestyle. About the two covens standing there, and how we were different. Carlisle paused at the end of his speech. "And… if you're willing… we'd gladly take you in as family."

Andrea and Zach looked at each other. "Family?" Andrea said.

"Yes," said Carlisle. "See, we could take you in as 'foster children.' You could go to High School… even college. But… you must overcome the wanting of human blood first. It's non-optional."

They both had very big eyes. "Really?" Andrea asked.

"Really," Carlisle said with a smile.

"But…" Zach said. "Wouldn't we be… putting you out or something?"

Esme's eyes flashed up to them. "Family is not something that puts you out."

They were silent. "If you don't mind me asking," Zach said. "How do all of you live together without drawing up strange questions?"

Carlisle smiled. "Well, actually, we don't all exactly live together. Carmen, Eleazor, Kate, Garrett, Tanya, and Andrew all live in Denali, Alaska. Our cover story," he pointed out the rest of us, "is that Esme and I adopted Emmett, Edward, and Alice when they were babies, or close to it. We also have another 'son' named Connor who was adopted as a teenager. Jasper and Rosalie are foster children, though they have turned 'eighteen'. They pretend to be twins."

Andrea was smiling. "I suppose we should tell you," she started. "That we have a few… abilities." She gestured toward Zach with her head.

"I can see people's pasts," he said confidently. "I can get the whole story if I touch them and the general picture if I'm in about a five mile radius of them."

"And I can see the good and bad in people, which helps me know if I can trust them. You are all very, _very_ good," Andrea told us.

"I read minds," Edward blurted out. He seemed to want to remain silent, but I assume he thought he should tell them himself.

"And I see the future," Alice said blandly.

"I can control people's emotions," Jasper announced.

"I'm a mental shield," I said, being just as frank as the others.

"I show people my thoughts," Nessie yawned.

"I can inflict pain upon people," Kate said in a casual voice.

"And I can tell you what other people's… abilities are," Eleazor said.

"O…..k," Andrea said with a nod. "I take it there are a few awkward moments in your house?"

"At least once every hour," Emmett assured her.

They both laughed. "Is that a yes then?" Carlisle asked. "Will you join us?"

"Yes," they both said, very definitely.

"Then there's something you should know," Carlisle said. And he told them about Julia, and how she was human, and how she was going to be turned into a vampire. "So I think," he concluded. "That perhaps you can go live in Alaska for about a month, until Julia is changed. And that would give us time to spread the story that we are getting new 'foster children.'"

"It's fine with us," Andrea answered for both of them. "We just want to do whatever it takes to be like you."

"_Su_-weet, we're idols!" Emmett said cheerfully.

"Let's call it a trip," Carlisle said. "We should get home; I have to recast your arm, Ness."

She huffed her air out. "_Fine_," she said grudgingly.

"Edward do you think you can get home?" Carlisle asked.

"Yep, but it's going to take a while," he answered. He still had his head on my shoulder.

"Can you move your arm?"

Edward tried to move his arm slightly. It twitched. He sighed heavily. "Uh-huh."

"Does it hurt?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then I guess we'll see you at home," Carlisle finished.

"Uh-huh," Edward said more loudly. I stood up and pulled him to his feet by his good arm. I tried not to look at his other arm, knowing that it was reattaching itself at the moment.

"I'll stay with you," I told him for the second time that night.

"'Kay," he said weakly.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

We all took off for home. Andrea and Zach just followed, lagging behind only slightly. Edward and I were behind Esme, and about even with Nessie. Edward's run was awkward, yet still incredibly graceful, seeing as he couldn't really move one of his arms.

We got home around two that morning, and Nessie literally fell asleep as she was hitting the couch. It was cute. She had been explaining to Zach and Andrea, about how she was half-human, half-vampire and how Connor and Julia were much like Edward and I, on the way home.

We bid good-bye to the Denali's, promising Zach and Andrea that we would be seeing them as soon as possible. Edward spent the rest of the night sitting with me in the recliner near the couch Nessie was lying on.

Exactly one week later, we were all standing at the airport waiting for Connor and Julia to arrive. They had gone on a private cruise through Alaskan cold waters, and from the call we had got last night when they told us they were coming home, they'd had a lot of fun. We were going to change Julia as soon as they got home. I know that she had talked to her dad one last time as a human, and she felt ready. I had talked to Edward and Carlisle about the effects morphine had, and though Edward was a little bothered that I hadn't told him the whole truth, he understood my reasoning.

We had decided to go with the story that Julia had been in a car accident and had gotten reconstructive surgery. They had certainly been gone on their honeymoon long enough for that to have happened… And nobody they knew would've seen them…

Nessie saw them first. "There they are!" She pointed to a spot about fifty yards ahead of us. Out came Connor, pulling Julia by one hand and holding two suitcases in the other. They both smiled as they caught sight of us.

"Hi," I said as they got closer.

"Hi," Julia said calmly. She smiled more broadly at me.

"You ready?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes as if this had all been a hassle. "_So_ ready."

I saw Connor bite his lip slightly. I knew he was as ready as she was, but it must be hard to let go.

We all drove home in our separate cars, and Nessie went with Rose and Emmett. Connor and Julia came with us.

We were silent for most of the trip, until we got near Port Angeles. "I don't want you to be scared," Connor murmured quietly.

Julia took a deep breath. "Then all I want is for you to stay there with me… and don't worry. I'm not scared, just anxious. If you don't believe me, ask Jasper." I could see her smile. "So if I'm not scared, you shouldn't be worried." He didn't say anything. I saw her, in the rearview mirror lean over and kiss him. I looked away, and Edward kept his eyes on the road. "Just hold my hand okay?"

He nodded. She laid her head on his shoulder.

An hour later, we were in Carlisle's office. Julia was on the table already. Edward and Carlisle were both going to be the ones to bite Julia. Connor and I were going to sit with her, and Edward would most likely be up here for most of it, but Nessie might need some company. She was staying at Jacob's house for as many nights as it took for Julia to change. Everyone else would stay downstairs for her change.

"Connor?" Julia whispered.

He was standing over her head. I looked down; tears were streaming down her face. He put his hand behind her head and stroked her hair. "Sh," he said. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Oh!" she said, surprised. "Nothing, nothing's wrong, just…" She took a deep breath. "Connor, I wanted you to know… I promise, I always have, and always will love you, no matter what happens. I just wanted you to know that." She whispered the last part.

"Oh, Julia," Connor whispered back. "Honey, I've always loved you too. And I always will love you, I promise." I heard Connor's voice break, and I thought he might be crying. He took a shuddering breath. "We're never going to have it easy are we?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. She smiled. "Let's do it."

Connor smiled as well. "Alright," he said.

"Connor?" she said yet again.

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath. "Will you give me the first bite?"

I saw the hesitancy in his eyes for less than half a second. He sighed. "As long as that's what you want," he assured her.

"It is," she promised him.

"Then I think we're ready," Carlisle said.

Connor nodded. I smiled at Julia, she smiled back. "Almost there," I told her.

She nodded. "Almost."

Connor bent near her. "I love you," he told her for the last time on this side of forever.

"I love you too," she whispered to him.

And Connor sunk his teeth into the side of Julia's neck.

The smile that had been on Julia's lips faltered, and then she glued it back on. She sighed. I watched as Connor pulled away, and saw him fight to control his thirst. His eyes met her blank ones, and the scorching in his throat no longer mattered. Carlisle and Edward were already biting her at this point, at her ankles, on the crease of her elbows. I watched Connor's face, it was completely blank, and I knew he was finding logic in this.

Because he can look at the logic in any situation, he knew that this was the smart thing to do. Perhaps he felt it wasn't the right thing to do, but his mind was telling him this was the smart thing to do, and that was helping him. Then I looked to Julia. She still had the smile on her face, but it was more plastic now. I heard her heartbeat as the venom went into her bloodstream. She gasped, and I saw the pain start to flicker in her eyes.

Connor was stroking her hair, and she turned her eyes to him for a brief instant, and then brought them back. I knew she didn't want him to see her pain. I didn't realize how much time had passed until Edward was at my side, they had finished biting. I heard the door open, and Carlisle walked down the stairs. Julia closed her eyes.

Edward pulled up a chair, and he sat down in it. I sat in between his legs, and he wrapped his strong arms around me. He leaned his head on my back, and I kept my eyes on Julia. Her smile was still there, but it was only on her lips.

An hour ticked by. Julia was silent. Another silent hour and another after that. They continued. I knew Alice was downstairs looking for a time when it would end, when the burning would stop. Connor was still rubbing Julia's hair at the end of the twelfthsilent hour.

Then something changed in Julia's expression. Her smile disappeared for the briefest second, and she gasped. I thought she was going to scream. But as she let her air out; it was just a quiet moan. Her fists clenched, and unclenched. I looked at her fingers. They were formed into the sign for I love you.

"Connor…" I said. I pointed to her fingers.

He glanced down at them, and did a double take. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again. He leaned very close to Julia's ear, and he whispered, "I love you too."

The smile reappeared on her lips.

For the next twelve hours, nothing about Julia changed. She remained still, and silent. Alice walked up the stairs twenty-four hours into the change. I looked at Edward, he was smiling a little. "It's going to be quick," Alice announced. Connor looked up. "She only has about eighteen hours left."

Connor looked back down at Julia and stroked her hair some more. She gasped, and sighed. She moaned again. "You're more than half there," he murmured in her ear.

"I'm going to go check on Ness," Edward whispered to me.

I turned to him and nodded. I gave him a peck on the lips, and he slid out from behind me. The door closed, leaving me feeling a little empty inside without him. He'd be back soon.

Sure enough, before I knew it the door was opening again, and in came Edward. It had been two hours since Alice had come upstairs. "Sixteen hours left," I told him as he squeezed in behind me.

He nodded. "Not bad," he muttered. "You're very strong-willed Julia," he told her.

I thought I saw her smiling lips smirk a little. The hours ticked by, one at a time. Ten hours. Eight hours. Six hours. Julia's features were changing a little. She was paling, and I knew her eyes were becoming red. I saw beneath her thin t-shirt that her stomach muscles were tightening, and becoming hard. Her legs were so strong from running they weren't really changing at all, just becoming white. Her naturally beautiful face was becoming even more beautiful, and at this rate she would be as beautiful as Rose when this was over.

Four hours left. One hour left. We were telling Julia every time ten minutes passed. With forty minutes left, Julia gasped, and groaned a little. I knew the fire within her was getting hotter, it was almost over. Her heart was pounding toward its last beats.

"Only twenty minutes, Julia," I said a few minutes later. Two minutes later Julia gasped and let out a yell.

"Almost done sweetheart," Connor murmured to her. Her eyes were still shut tight, and the pasted on smile was gone now. Her lips were moving soundlessly, and Edward spoke up.

"Connor, she wants you to hold her," Edward told him.

Connor immediately began to loosen the ties that were holding her down. I got the two by her legs, and Edward got the one across her waist. Gently, Connor scooped Julia's limp body into his arms. He cradled her to his chest, and held her tight.

"Ten minutes," Edward said. Julia gasped and yelled a little again. "I'll get the others," Edward whispered in my ear.

I heard Edward downstairs rounding up the others. It only took him a few minutes, everyone was staying near. As Esme closed the door behind her, I said, "Four minutes, Jewels."

She let out a deep, shuttering breath and cowered into Connor's chest. I looked at my family; many of them had their heads bowed, a few were just watching us. We were all silent for the next few minutes. The only sounds were Julia's gasps, and her rapidly changing heart.

"One minute," Edward said softly.

I held my breath out of nerves. She was almost there… they were _almost_ there…

"Thirty seconds," Edward said. Julia's heart was racing away toward its last beats. I heard her breathing become shallow, and I knew she wouldn't be breathing much longer. I counted down silently on Edward's watch. Three… two… one…

Julia's blood red eyes shot open. They moved quickly around the room, and shot upward towards Connor's face. There they paused. I knew she was taking in all the beauty she had once thought she had known. She sat up out of his arms a little, but they didn't break their gaze.

Nobody said anything for a while. Then Julia spoke up, "I love you," she said. The stillness in the room intensified a tenfold. Her voice… Her voice was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. It was sweet, and confident, and full of emotion. The only thing I could even compare it to, was Edward's voice talking to me.

Connor couldn't take his eyes off of Julia. She looked even more perfect than I had thought. Rosalie still out shone her in my opinion, but she was close… very close. "I love you too," Connor told her.

She smiled at him, and fell back into his arms. She tore her eyes off his face, and jerked her head over to us. Her eyes met mine, and in that second, something passed in between us. It was like we both knew what had just happened, and knew how much we had given up. We also knew we didn't care. Not one bit.

"Hi," she said plainly in her perfect voice.

"Hi," I said back just as plainly. She grinned at me, and I smiled back.

"That wasn't fun," she said cheerfully.

"Nope," I said. "Probably wasn't."

She let out a beautiful, ringing laugh. "I did it!" she said loudly. She looked at Connor then back at me, and sighed, still smiling. I laughed a little too.

"Don't you just feel like rubbing it in their faces?" I asked. "All those people who would've said you couldn't do it, or wouldn't make it or whatever?"

"Yes," she said curtly. "Very much so. Oh, _very_ much so."

"Aren't you thirsty?" Carlisle asked abruptly.

Julia's face dropped suddenly, and her eyebrows furrowed. "Well," she said more quietly. "It's… kind of hard to explain, you see." She thought for a moment. I looked at Edward; his face looked surprised, and curious. "It's like… I'm thirsty… but… I can think of other things… if I want to."

Everyone was silent. I spoke up. "That's… exactly how it was for me… it's almost like disciplining yourself. You don't _want _to think of other things but you know you have to. You know that there's more important things that you _need_ to think about."

Carlisle shook his head slowly. "Bella," he said. "That's not how a newborn should think. That's not… normal…"

He trailed off in thought. "Well…" I said. "Julia and I didn't have normal transformations. We knew it was coming, we had a good idea of_ what_ was coming, and we knew the challenges it would bring about. We… wanted it, unlike all of you, so… maybe… I wasn't anything special. Perhaps everyone would have been able to control their thirst, more easily at least, if they had gotten some kind of warning."

"I think she's right," Julia said suddenly. "It's… not easy to focus on other things, but I want to. Then again, I'm also standing in a room full of vampires. I think… I_ know_… that there's a good chance I couldn't think around… being thirsty… if there were humans here."

We were all silent, and Julia gasped. Edward pulled his head up toward her, and squinted his eyes. Julia clapped her hands to her eyes, and didn't take them off.

"It's okay," Edward said quickly as he slid out from behind me. "You're okay, just relax," he said more slowly.

She whipped her hands back down into her lap. "What was that?" she spit out.

"I… don't know," Edward said. "But I think you… definitely have some sort of talent there, Julia."

The others were listening with rapt attention now. "Let's see," Edward said. "We'll start at the beginning. You were just about to ask where Nessie was, and all of the sudden…"

"It was like I could see her on Jacob's couch as if I had been in the room myself," Julia finished for him.

That was kind of cool… but what did it mean? Could she see the present? Or… what?

"That's an idea Emmett," Edward muttered. "He's suggesting… maybe she can… find people by getting a glimpse of where they're at."

"That sounds like seeing the future," Alice said. "How do we know she's not like me?"

"Well for one, she just saw Nessie, and that's something you can't do," Connor said.

"So basically," Rosalie said. "We need to know what Julia is seeing. Is it the past, present, future, something that could have happened, or did happen, or is happening, or might be happening…? There're endless possibilities."

"I can narrow those possibilities down a little," Edward said. "The outfit Julia saw Nessie wearing and the outfit she's wearing today are one in the same. Plus, Nessie _is_ still changing. Not much… and not for much longer, but she's changing. There's no way that was Nessie when she was younger, and frankly, I don't think that's her when she's older either."

"I think," Julia said. "Now that we're talking about it… I think that I… can find people. I don't know why I think that… I just… do."

A memory, still crystal clear, but from long ago flooded back into my mind. _"She's… very unselfish. She was really worried about all the other kids in school, and if they were alright. She's one of those people who just needs to know that everyone's safe." _ I could remember Edward telling me this as if it was yesterday, but it had been nearly three years ago. It had been right after the fire… When she wasn't sure what had happened to anyone but she and Connor. She needed to know… and now she could.

"Well let's try it," I said. "Where's your dad Julia?"

Julia looked straight ahead, and I saw a familiar glassy-eyed look come over her. But only for two seconds. Then her eyes came back in to focus, and she looked at me and said, "At home, eating dinner and watching the news."

We were once again silent for a spell. "You're pretty confident about that," Jasper said. She nodded.

"So you can find people," Esme said.

"It appears so," Julia said with raised eyebrows.

"That's very interesting," Carlisle said. "It's like tracking almost…" He trailed off.

"Okay, can I _please_ go hunt now?" Julia asked impatiently.

"Oh, sorry!" Carlisle said. "Go ahead."

"Thank-you!" Julia said as she hopped out of Connor's arms and grabbed his hand instead. I watched a she half-dragged him down the stairs. She was fast… really fast. I didn't think she was faster than Edward, but she might be able to give him a run for his money…

I heard the door swing shut behind them and watched from the window as they sprinted deep into the woods. Emmett gave a low whistle. "She's fast…" he muttered.

"I know," Edward sighed.

An hour later, Julia and Connor still weren't back. Nobody was saying it… but we all had an idea of what they were doing.

Edward's cell phone rang. "It's Leah," he said before answering.

Leah didn't even say hello. "Brooke's bleeding," she said, and I heard her fighting panic. "Not a lot, but it's constant; she's also feeling very slight contractions."

I said a curse word the same time Carlisle did. "Where are you?" Edward asked. She described a clearing in the woods that I knew well. "Make her lay on her left-side, breathe deeply, try to stay calm and if it's possible; she needs water, we're coming."

Exactly one minute and fifty-six seconds later, I could see the wolves in the dimming twilight. They were all in human form, and all crammed into the clearing. I saw Brooke; on the ground as Edward had instructed. Embry was behind her stroking her hair, and Leah was sitting by her head, talking to her. Brooke wasn't crying, but I could see she was uncomfortable.

"Okay," Edward said as we all three dropped down by Brooke. "Seventeen weeks," I heard him swear, but I don't think Brooke did.

"Preterm labor?" I suggested randomly. The symptoms matched up…

"Probably," Carlisle and Edward said at the same time. Hey, sometimes I had lucky guesses.

"What's that?" Brooke asked in a small voice.

"We think you're going into labor," Carlisle told her calmly.

"What?" Brooke said sharply. "No… I… I can't be, I'm only seventeen weeks… that's…" She trailed.

"You're right," Edward said. "You most certainly can't be, and won't be if we can help it."

That's when I heard them. Two sets of pounding feet, one racing ahead of the other. The wind blew in our direction, and I smelled Julia and Connor coming, and Julia was in the lead. Carlisle and Edward were two steps ahead of me, they were both on their feet and standing in front of Brooke, and I followed. Edward had his arms at his sides, with his palms facing out in the direction of Julia and Connor. Julia had smelled the blood, I was sure of it.

That's all I had time to comprehend. Julia burst through the trees, and I saw her eyes change. In one second, they went from raging thirst, to pain, to absolute terror. With a wild gasp, Julia flung herself back through the trees and away from the smell of blood. The pride that filled my heart just then made me want to cry. She had just run away from blood. Werewolf blood of course, but still, a major accomplishment.

Connor pushed through the trees just then, and looked around for Julia. "Connor," Carlisle said quickly. "Don't bring her home; we have to bring Brooke there. Take her somewhere she feels safe, and don't leave her or bring her back to the house until I call you."

He nodded. His eyes shown with pride, and astonishment, and then he was off to get Julia. We immediately turned our attention back to Brooke. She was gasping when she inhaled now. She had to be hurting.

"Alright," Carlisle said. "I'm carrying her back to our house, Embry; follow as fast as you can."

"Remember," I told Brooke as Carlisle scooped her into his gentle arms. "Deep breaths. It makes everything a little easier."

Brooke nodded, and we all ran back to the house as fast as we could. Edward got there first and turned on the bright overhead lights. Carlisle laid Brooke down on the examination table and Embry got there as he started to examine Brooke. She was crying now, but silently, and as far as crying goes, quite calmly. Embry immediately grabbed Brooke's hand, and put his other hand under the back of her head.

"Ok Brooke," Carlisle said. "You are in preterm labor, but thankfully, I should be able to stop it in a moment…" He seemed to consider for a moment. "Yes, I think that'll work," he said out loud. He rummaged in a cabinet nearby for a moment, and then pulled out a black colored medicine.

I had studied preterm labor only minimally while in med school, but I knew that one of the ways to stop preterm labor was to swallow one of two medicines. This had to be one of those… We were very fortunate to have it, and even more fortunate that Brooke's preterm labor would be controlled by this.

Carlisle tossed the bottle of medicine over Brooke and into Edward's hands. Edward grabbed it, and measured out the right amount for Brooke's weight. Carlisle handed me a big piece of fabric I recognized as an absorbency blanket and said, "Press it firmly between her legs."

Brooke gasped a little and tightened her muscles as I applied pressure. "Just relax Brooke," I encouraged. "That's it, nice and easy breathing, you're okay."

Edward put the medicine cup to Brooke's lips and poured it down her throat. She gagged after she had swallowed. "That was horrible," she muttered.

"Sorry," Edward said. Carlisle was rummaging in another cabinet now, and this time, pulled out a cylinder of tiny white pills.

He shook two of them out and got some water. "This," he said. "Along with the applied pressure should stop the bleeding. The black medicine you just took should have stopped the contractions." He sighed as he handed her the pills and she put them in her mouth. He gave her the water to help her swallow them.

"Give it about ten minutes," he told me. I had my nose turned away from the blood, and was holding my breath mostly out of habit.

"I'm not going to lie to you," Carlisle told Brooke and Embry. "This is not common. Bleeding, and Braxton Hicks, and going into preterm labor in your second trimester doesn't usually happen. It's not unheard of, but it's not normal." Edward had turned on the ultrasound and was now squirting the gel on Brooke's swelling abdomen. He handed Carlisle the ultrasound wand, and I watched the screen. There was the baby, right where it was supposed to be.

What I saw next made me almost fall over, literally. No one said anything. There, on the screen, were two babies. Brooke gasped, and Embry's mouth fell open.

"Okay, forget everything I just said," Carlisle announced. He looked closer at the screen. "Edward, are you writing all this down?" Carlisle was as astonished as the rest of us.

"Two babies?" Brooke said.

"Twins," Edward muttered.

"Alright, now we're playing a whole new ball game," Carlisle said. "The symptoms you've been experiencing are much more normal when applying to twin pregnancy. Still, you went into preterm labor earlier than I would have expected, but not by as much." He focused on the newly found baby. "It seems that this baby was much higher in the womb than the other, but the bleeding and contractions caused it to move down quite a bit. Did you feel that?"

Brooke thought for a moment. "I did, I just didn't realize what it was."

"The good news is," Carlisle said. "Both babies are very healthy, as are you." He smiled at her. "We played a lucky card tonight."

She sighed. "I think I'm in shock," she muttered.

"I _know_ I'm in shock," Embry muttered back. She gave a feeble laugh. He smirked at her.

I smiled too. They _had_ been very lucky. Things could have gone so differently.

"New rules apply now," Edward spoke up. "Personally, I think it's a good idea if you run patrol once, at the most, every nine days."

"I agree," Carlisle said. "And you need to get a lot of rest. Putting you on bed rest is a little extreme at the moment, but it could be a possibility in a few weeks time."

"Okay," Brooke said. "Whatever's best, I'll do it."

"Of course you will," I said, grinning.

"Now," Edward said. "Are your contractions slowing?"

Brooke thought about it for a second. "Yes, but they're definitely still there."

"Alright," Edward said. "That's still normal; the bleeding _is_ stopping, only about three more minutes of pressure I think." He wrote a few more notes on his clipboard, and then tossed his cell phone to Embry. "Here," he said. "Call Leah first, and then call the others."

"O… kay…" Embry said. "But isn't it a little late?"

"They're up," Edward insisted. "Waiting by the phone actually."

For the next twenty minutes, Embry called every wolf in both packs. I thought it was funny that he had all of their numbers memorized. I took the absorbency blanket off of Brooke after about three minutes, as Edward had suggested. She had stopped bleeding, but I knew the scent lingered. I got our bottle of bleach out and started wiping down all the places the blood had touched. Absorbency blankets weren't reusable, but instead of throwing it away where the scent would linger, I set fire to it. Brooke jumped as the fire roared into life, and I smiled at her.


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

After Embry had called everyone, Edward offered to drive them home, and they accepted. I went downstairs and sat with the others. They had heard everything that had gone on, and Emmett was taking advantage of Edward being gone by teasingly telling me it was my fault that we hadn't realized Brooke was carrying twins. I let him go on for a while, and then I told them all what had happened with Julia.

They were all very surprised, but I just kept telling them exactly what I had said before. We knew what we were in for when we signed up for this, and we both had _serious _determination. Edward came in through the front door, and sat down beside me.

"They're coming back," Alice said before he could comment on any of tonight's events.

"Yep," Edward said. He turned to me. "That was… pretty crazy."

I nodded. "What was she thinking, when she smelled all the blood, and then saw Brooke lying there?"

"She was thinking quite a few things actually," he started. "At first, all she cared about was getting to the blood. Then she started to panic as she saw us. She didn't think she would be able to walk away, but it was almost like a bucket of water being splashed on her when she saw Brooke lying on the ground, surrounded by people she knew, and somewhat cared about. Something just kind of clicked, and her exact thoughts were, '_This is wrong'_. And you saw her face, she was determined to get away, and she did." He smiled at me. "Then again,_ that _was just a very smelly dog."

I smiled back. "I knew she could do it," I sighed as I leaned into him and he automatically closed his arms around me. "And even if it hadn't been a wolf, she would have done it."

"But she doesn't know that," he said very quietly. They were getting closer, I could hear them. A few seconds later Connor was pushing the door open with one hand and pulling Julia in with the other. She closed the door behind her, and turned to face us.

No one said anything. They were dripping wet from the rain, and I caught Julia's eye. Her expression didn't change, but I smiled at her a little. She returned it immediately. "That was scary," she said. I nodded. "I'm glad it's worth it," she said more quietly.

I shook my head. "You don't even know the half of it." I smiled more widely, and she grinned.

I looked at my watch. It was nearing two in the morning. I wanted to go get Nessie, I missed her like crazy, but I knew she'd be asleep now. So instead, I cuddled up next to Edward on the couch, and lay my head on his chest. "I love you," I said.

"I love you too," he said back. Everyone was quiet for a moment, listening to the pounding of the rain. "We're all so in love," Edward said after a while. I felt him shake his head, and I could almost see the smirk.

"You would know," I said. I sighed, and clicked my tongue. "Could get pretty graphic." I smiled and looked up at him.

He laughed. "Yeah, pretty graphic."

"Sorry," several voiced filled the room at once. I laughed with Edward then.

Around eight the next morning, Edward and I decided to go pick up Nessie. We raced over to Jake's house, and he called us in the door. Billy was eating his breakfast at the kitchen table when we came in, and I waved to him. He smiled, and waved back. He and Charlie got together quite a bit now that Charlie had moved down here. He and Sue had had a courthouse wedding in Seattle about a week after Connor and Julia's. The only people there had been Edward, Nessie, and I, along with Leah, Joel and their kids. And of course, Seth and Abbey.

"Hey there stranger," I said as I walked into the living room and saw Nessie.

"Hi," she said, jumping up to hug me. I kissed her on the head, and she fell into Edward's arms next.

"I was thinking," Edward said. He scrunched his eyebrows together. "Is it alright if she stays here tonight again?"

"Sure," Jacob said. "But may I ask why?"

"Uh…" Edward said. "Well, let's just say Connor and Julia need some alone time."

"Why, they gonna _do it_?" Jacob asked.

"_I don't know_, but you don't _ask people that_," Edward said without missing a beat.

"O-kay," Jacob said, emphasizing every syllable. "Not that I mind, but why doesn't she just sleep at your house?"

"Because our house isn't far enough away," Edward said. "And that's all we're saying on that subject."

"Where are you guys going to be?" Jacob asked.

"Work and we're done talking about it!" Edward snapped the last part.

I guffawed. "Anyway," I said. "Today is school registration day at the High School. Everyone in the whole town who has school aged children has to sign-up today." I took a deep breath and turned to Edward. "I was wondering… Should Esme or Carlisle go sign up Andrea and Zach? Do you think that they'll be ready to go by then? School starts September first, and that's only about eight weeks away."

Edward sighed. "I talked to Carlisle about that. He thinks, and I think, that they are both going to be ready. I spoke to Tanya, and she said they're doing as well as Andrew is, and he's been at it nearly two months longer than they have. If we sign them up today, they'll have another month to continue preparing. I mean, it's not like they _weren't_ around people in their first year, they just weren't around people enough to risk losing it. We think it would be a good idea to sign them up. In case something were to happen, or we think they aren't ready, we can always say they haven't arrived yet because of legalities or something."

I raised my eyebrows. "I see. Let's hopenothing _does_ happen then." He smiled, and my breath caught in my throat. I checked my watch. "Sign-ups are starting now. What do you say we head over there Ness?" I asked.

"Why not?" she answered.

"I think I'll head home," Edward told me. "We're supposed to be sleeping now, remember?"

I smiled. "Of course. We're going home though too. We need a car, remember?"

"Of course," he mocked back. He smirked at me.

We said our good-byes to Jake, and headed back home. About twenty minutes later, Nessie, Esme, and I were pulling into the High School parking lot. It was packed of course, considering that if you lived in Forks, you went to school from the age of three, until you graduated High School. That's just what everyone did in a town this small. We had gotten our stories straight. We were signing up Nessie for her senior year obviously, and we had decided to sign Andrea up for her freshman year, and Zach up for his junior. We had decided to do this upon speaking to Carlisle. I wasn't sure… but I thought they were, _possibly_, more than just friends. It was the way they acted around each other. I planned on asking Edward when we got home.

We walked into the very familiar building, and got in line. Sign-ups ran throughout most of the main building at the High School. Esme went first in line, followed by Nessie and me.

I recognized the old secretary from back when Edward and I went here. She was retired now, but I know that they usually took volunteers for sign-up day, and she was bound to be good at it by now.

Esme stepped up to the table. The elderly woman looked slightly taken aback. "Well, Mrs. Cullen, what do we owe the pleasure of seeing you today?"

Esme was ready, she knew the story. "Well, Dr. Cullen and I have been offered to take in two more foster children this coming year. With all of our children grown now, and one grandchild nearly there," she glanced at Nessie, "we decided to take them. Their names are Andrea and Zach. They aren't related, but they should both be arriving here next week. Not many people are willing to take teenagers, you see. They've been bounced around from orphanages to foster homes their whole lives. We'll hopefully be their last." She smiled reassuringly, and of course the woman believed the highly convincing story.

"That's wonderful!" she said. "I'll look for them around town then, I suppose?"

"Oh, I suppose," Esme said.

Esme took two sets of papers, and I followed, grabbing one set. We were shuffled into one of the classrooms, and each filled out our paperwork. Nessie was required to agree and sign to quite a few things herself, because she would be turning 'eighteen' this year. Esme had her papers filled out as fast I had mine, even though she had twice as many. No one took any notice to us as we left the classroom and headed out into the drizzle toward the gym. Once there, we had to pay several fees before we were finished.

On our way back to the car, I saw my old friend Jessica Stanley, who was now Jessica Newton. She was holding the hand of a young girl who I knew to be named Cami, and who should be starting kindergarten this year. In her other hand she held an even smaller hand of a boy I knew to be named Aidan, a boy Edward had helped deliver. I assumed he would be starting his first year of preschool this year. I noticed a small bump in between her hips, and realized she must be pregnant again. Life was always going on… always.

I knew something was wrong before we had even pulled all the way onto the winding road that led to the house. I could sense the tension in the air; feel its presence, even though all was silent within the house.

I knew Esme was aware that something was going on, as was Nessie, but none of us spoke, none of us even looked at each other. Esme parked the car, and we all got out together, Nessie lagging behind only slightly.

We came in through the garage door, and they were all there in the in the living room. No one glanced up as we came in, but I sat down next to Edward. Nessie stayed by the door. "What's going on?" I finally asked.

No one said anything. I looked at Edward, and for the first time realized there was a paper clutched in his hand. He held it out to me, and I read.

_Dear Cullen's,_

_ The Volturi graciously invite you to Volterra, Italy and into the home of the Volturi and their guard. We believe it is high time that all vampires get to know each other. You will be one of the three thousand vampires to be invited to this conference, of sorts. Here you will meet a species of your own kind. Nomadic, as well as settled vampires have been invited. The conference will begin in three weeks time, and will commence within three days of that at the most. You will find enclosed a paper we hope will help make this event more organized. We hope to see you there._

_ Sincerely,_

_ The Volturi_

_ Aro, Caius, Marcus, and their guard_

Edward handed me a smaller sheet of paper without a word. On it was;

_Nomadic vampires: Wear brown_

_ Settled vampires: Wear red_

The last line was scribbled in, as if someone had quickly scrawled it just for us.

_ '_Vegetarian' vampires: Wear blue

I set the paper down beside me, and looked around at my family. Then I looked at my daughter. Finally, my eyes rested upon Edward's. He met my gaze full on.

"So," I said. I didn't take my eyes from Edward's. "Now what?"

Everyone was completely silent. Esme had read the letter now, and had dropped it back on the couch. The rain pattered the windows.

"We go of course," Alice said. She could have been talking about the weather, the way her voice was so casual. I turned to look at her just as everyone else did. "Well why not?" she said. "Why give them one more reason to hate us? It's not going to kill us just to go, to make a presence at the very least."

"They're recognizing we're different," Connor said smoothly.

"So?" Alice responded just as smoothly. "We are different. In a _very _good way. Why not be proud of it?"

There was a small moment when we all sorted our own thoughts and emotions. "She's right," I spoke up.

"Of course I'm right," Alice agreed.

"I'm not so happy with the Volturi right now," Julia said.

"None of us are," Edward responded.

"Which gives us all the more reason to go," Rosalie said. "To show them we aren't afraid of them, and they won't _ever _hold us back."

"That's right," Carlisle muttered.

"So let's go," Emmett said.

"Have we spoken to the Denali's yet? Zach and Andrea will be here by then," Jasper reminded us.

"I'll call Tanya now," Esme offered. She even took a step toward the phone in the kitchen.

"So we're going?" Nessie asked. Everyone froze. She seemed to have picked up what was going on by our conversation. The tone in her voice is what made me stop. It was completely empty. Dead, blank, emotionless, detached. Not our daughter's voice…

She seemed to take our silence for as a yes. She slowly sank to the ground, looking straight ahead. Nobody said anything.

Edward spoke first. "You should always do what scares you Renesmee," he said more quietly than before. "Because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

She looked at him. He raised an eyebrow. She sighed. "When do we leave?"

I saw the shadow of a smile dart across his face. "In about three weeks time."

So we did exactly that. Three weeks later, we were all sitting side by side in wide first class seats. Zach and Andrea were with us, we had gone to Alaska to pick them up about two weeks previous. The Denali's had gotten an earlier flight in the day, but we would meet them in Italy, I was sure. I was next to Edward of course, and he had his arm around me. I laid my head on his shoulder and settled in for the long flight. Zach and Andrea were nearest the window facing us, and Nessie was nearest the window in our row. Alice and Jasper were next to me, and Rosalie and Emmett across from them. Esme and Carlisle were sitting next to Rosalie, and Connor and Julia next to Edward.

We were all in the suggested blue. I wore the shirt that I had worn the first time I met Edward's family. The shirt I was in when he had first told me how beautiful I was… Nessie fell asleep and slowly landed on Edward's shoulder. He watched her sleep for a while, almost unconsciously, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was; we could watch our daughter sleep for the rest of forever, and never get bored. We landed smoothly in London, and I awoke Nessie gently to lead her toward our connection. We made the connection with only a few minutes to spare, but we preferred it that way. Nessie crashed again shortly after take- off. I took the time to get to know Andrea and Zach more.

"I was fourteen when I was changed," Andrea told me.

I gasped a little. "That's so young!" I said quietly.

She nodded with a grave smile. "I've been trying to be positive about it… I mean… I was living with my single-mother Aunt. She has two kids of her own, and she took me more out of pity than love. You see, my parents weren't good people. They were involved in illegal drugs and stuff like that, and the state took me from them when I was four. My Aunt didn't want me thrown into the system, and for my sake, she took me. She was good to me, but I just wasn't like her kids. When I disappeared one day… she just took the time to fill out the missing person report, and put me out of her thoughts. She's always had good in her… but… it just wasn't aimed at me. I was more of a burden to her."

She sighed. "Patrick and Mary took me after that…" she trailed off. "And Zach was there when I woke up."

"I wasn't speaking to my mom at the time I was changed," Zach began. "My dad died when I was little, and it went downhill after that. I passed my GED test at seventeen, and was legally emancipated. I moved out the first day I could. I'm originally from Southern California, but Patrick and Mary dragged us up to Oregon as soon as they could." He shuddered. "When I saw their pasts… When I saw what they had done…" He shrugged his shoulders. "Andrea and I bonded with each other more out of necessity of a friend than anything. We soon discovered that neither of us wanted to be like we were. We didn't want to kill people… but we didn't know what else to do…"

"When we saw you guys… you were the literal answer to our prayers," Andrea said.

I smiled. "Glad to be of assistance."

Nessie stirred on Edward's shoulder. We met the rising sun as we landed in Volterra. We led the way out of the plane and into the airport. We got a few looks, and a couple of double takes, but that was a natural thing humans did when seeing us for the first time. I had been studying Italian for the three weeks since we had gotten the letter, and with hard work and a super-quick mind, I had become fairly close to fluent in it. I got a general knowledge of the Italian chatter surrounding me in the airport as Carlisle and Edward got our small bags, and we made our way over to the rental car stations.

I recalled the theft of a yellow Porsche 911 Turbo the last time I had been in this airport. Things had been so different then…

We rented two cars, an eight passenger SUV and a five passenger car. Dark-tinted windows of course. Edward and I took the front seats of the car with Nessie, Alice, and Jasper in the back. Everyone else climbed into the SUV with Carlisle driving, and he led the way out of the airport and to a certain place I knew to be where the Volturi were hidden. We drove for only a few moments before I started to smell other vampires. We weren't the only ones who had been invited to Volterra, and we wouldn't be the only ones who were arriving tonight.

We blended in with the shadows of a looming clock tower I remembered well. The last time I had been here had been one of the scariest, most painful times of my life. I smelled them before I saw them.

Several vampires were walking in the utter silence of early morning, into a downward-slanting alleyway. We joined immediately. I saw no one I knew, but plenty of people turned to look at us. We were the odd-ones-out in their eyes, I was sure. They probably didn't even know vampires like us existed, nor had they received a letter instructing anyone to wear blue. We saw plenty of red and brown, and as the alley curved gently and sloped further downward toward a solid brick wall, I saw black.

My feelings jumped to anger almost immediately. This is who had hurt our daughter. This is who had nearly killed Julia, and tortured Connor. I felt the hiss rise to my lips, and with a squeeze from Edward's hand, swallowed it before it could escape.

We weren't here to fight. Of course, I would never, ever forgive them for what they did to us, but I had better be able to stand in the same room with them without attacking. I was stronger than that… better than that. We were here to show them that they couldn't stop us… they couldn't scare us.

Felix was the one in black. Tall, and muscular, he was in control of the situation, no matter what anyone else wanted. He had a checklist in his hand, checking vampires off by name as they gracefully slid into an open hole right below the brick wall. No one spoke unless he asked their name. When we arrived at the beginning of the loosely formed line, Felix did a double take, counting our numbers.

"Names?" He asked smoothly.

"Carlisle Cullen," Carlisle went first, and slid down into the hole. We all followed his lead. I made sure Nessie went before me, and then made sure Connor, Julia, Andrea, and Zach went down after her. Edward and I followed last, one right after the other. We didn't speak as we wound through the dark, and then suddenly bright lit chambers and tunnels. Nessie hovered close to us, and that was fine by me. I could see Jasper slightly tensing, and relaxing as such a strong, new climate of emotion hit him. Andrea was doing the same thing, but less often. She could tell best how much good was in people by looking them in the eyes. The corridors were one-way; all filtering in to what I knew must be the large chamber I remembered from my last, fateful trip here.

The silent corridors grew louder as we approached the familiar doors to the chamber. Vampires greeting each other, speaking in several different languages. We walked through the doors behind a couple dressed in bloody crimson.

The rapid silence that greeted our entrance surprised us all. I leaned into Edward more as every face in the hall turned to stare at us. I recognized a few friends, but it was mostly new faces. Sitting up on a raised platform, was the Volturi.

Their pale faces made venom pulse through my veins, and once again, I reminded myself to be calm. Why couldn't Jasper be useful when you needed him…?

It's almost like they had known exactly when we were going to show up. No one spoke, we just stood there, being stared at, and staring right back. I spotted the six Denali's making their way across the hall, and they were soon standing with us.

Aro spoke first, from his position on a raised platform, with the rest of the Volturi and most of the guard. "Carlisle, my dear old friend!" He said cheerfully. He had gotten just what he wanted…

"Aro," Carlisle repeated, his voice wasn't emotionless, but it was full of an emotion I couldn't pick out.

"I take it you got our invitation?" Aro asked politely.

"Considering we're here, I take it we did," Carlisle answered.

Aro nodded. "You're numbers are bigger," he said. He glanced at Zach, Andrea, Connor, and Julia. All of whom he had never seen before. At least not with his own eyes… Of course he had heard of Connor since the time he had joined us, just by word of mouth. He knew all about Connor, and his uncanny ability to be logical.

"That they are," Carlisle agreed conversationally.

"As our yours," he gestured toward the Denali's.

Tanya said nothing, but she nodded her head once.

"May I know your names?" Aro asked, and he sounded slightly frustrated.

"You know my name," Julia said immediately, and I detected a hint of well-earned bitterness.

Aro's eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept up his façade as everyone in the room watched us speaking with him. "But of course, you must be Julia," he said. "Most beautiful I might add."

"Thank-you," she said, her voice lack of emotion.

"And your names?" He asked, turning to Zach and Andrea

"Zach," Zach said immediately. He already knew the things Aro, and everyone in this room, had done.

"Andrea," Andrea said more tentatively. She knew just how good and how bad Aro was, and that probably terrified her more than anything she had done so far.

"And you?" Aro asked, turning to Andrew.

"Andrew," he said plainly.

"May I shake your hands?" Aro asked.

My head jerked to Edward. He had his eyes on Julia, and nodded. She led the way through the crowd of people, meeting no one's eyes until she reached Aro. Andrew followed blindly behind her, and Zach after that. Andrea was last, following slowly.

Julia held Aro's hand for only a moment, but it was enough. He knew everything about her now, everything that had happened in her life, the good, the bad, the sad, the happy, and the emotions no one could pick out.

He did the same with Andrew, Zach, and lastly Andrea. She shivered a little after he let her go, and she led the way back to stand by us. We had all unconsciously moved forward with them, we were standing almost exactly in front of the raised platform now, but we stood back enough so we wouldn't have to look up at them. Nessie was standing very close to Edward and I, but her face was completely expressionless.

"Very interesting," Aro said a minute later.

We silently let him look us over. "You've grown into a beautiful young woman, Renesmee," Aro said conversationally. A murmur went through the crowd at this. They knew she wasn't a vampire, but they didn't know exactly what she was… They couldn't…

She raised her eyebrows, and I saw once again just how much she looked like her father. "Thank-you," she said plainly.

"You look much like your parents," he commented. The murmur intensified into voices. I heard snatches of all of them questioning each other, peering around others to try and get a better look at us.

We let them talk for a while, but said nothing. The whole of the Volturi and their guard were looking around the room, seeing what others reactions were. I saw Jane's eyes squint a little.

"Why don't I explain?" Edward finally spoke up.

"Good idea," Aro said. He gestured for Edward to hop up onto the platform.

Edward took a deep breath and sighed as he pushed himself up to stand over everyone else. He turned to face the enormous number, and his eyes burned into mine for the merest half-second.

"My name is Edward Cullen," Edward spoke clearly. "My family and I, we are _very_ different from you. You see," he began. "We do not drink human blood, we drink animal blood." The shocked silence was almost worse than the murmuring.

"While you wrap your heads around that," Edward continued. "I want you to meet my wife, Bella." He reached out a hand and pulled me up next to him.

I met the gaze of several vampires in the audience as they all stared at me. Edward seemed to be bracing himself for something. "Bella was a human when we got married," he said calmly.

Chaos erupted. People were talking in several languages, and I only understood a few of them. The constant questions were all spoken so fast I could barely pick them apart. My family was being stared at, the crowd shunning away from them a little, it seemed. Emmett grinned.

"Let him speak!" Someone spoke up from the back of the room in the universal language of English.

Nobody bothered to see who had yelled, but began to quiet down and look at us again all the same.

"Thank-you," Edward said. "Alright, I'm just going to cut right to the chase." He pulled Nessie up onto the platform, and I heard gasps at her startling resemblance to Edward and I. He took a deep breath. "This is our daughter," he said.

Most people looked confused, but kept silent. The murmuring was kept to a minimum. "I am her _biological_ father," Edward said. "And Bella is her _biological_ mother."

I watched realization dawn on the faces of about twenty percent of the room. Their mouths fell open slightly and their eyes squinted in anylization. The other half still looked utterly confused and shocked at what he was saying.

"Confused?" Edward asked. "Don't be." With that, we went to stand by our family. Whispers and murmurs grew louder and louder around us as we looked at each other and waited for whatever was coming next.

"Well," Tanya said. "At least they aren't running at us with pitchforks." She smiled. I smiled back.

They were all looking at us now as they conversed with each other. I heard plenty of why's? And how's? And I don't understand's, in plenty of languages.

Eventually understanding came about for most of them. They tried to explain to each other, and one vampire speaking in rapid French seemed to be best at it. I deluged that he must have had the power of explaining things to others. It grew silent again, and Aro spoke once more.

"May I shake your hand, Renesmee?

"No," she said calmly.

"Nes-" I started, but Edward squeezed my hand tightly to cut me off.

"But you can let me touch your face," she said with her father's smirk.

He cocked a brow. "Very well," he said bluntly.

She jumped up next to him and placed her hand on his face without hesitation. His eyes went out of focus for a while as she flipped through some of her life. I didn't know what she was showing him, but Edward did. She knew what she was doing.

Or so I thought. I knew she was showing him something he didn't need to see when Edward stiffened next to me. He didn't say anything, but she had seen the movement. She pulled her hand away almost immediately, and didn't spare Edward a glance.

Aro was silent for a minute, and I grew concerned as to what she had shown him. Finally he spoke. "You're much like your father Renesmee, in attitudes, and somewhat on perspectives of the world."

Her eyes shot to us for the briefest of moments. "So I hear," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow, and dropped it again. "Well then," he said, turning to address the crowd. "Now that that particular introduction is under way, I'd like to thank you all for coming. This is an idea I've been playing around with for a while, and have recently put it into action. I thought it would be a good chance for us to meet each other, make new acquaintances, and learn about each other's life styles. Now I thought we could start by having each one of us step up onto the platform here, and give us a brief glimpse of who you are, and what your life is like. Any volunteers?"

I looked around me, and soon a few hands shot up. The one closest to the front climbed up onto the platform. "I'm Will," he said. "I can see through walls, but only walls, and I'm a nomadic vampire." That was all he said. He climbed down, and it began again. Over and over and over it went, and I found it pretty interesting. Emmett went next from our family.

"I'm Emmett," he said. "And I'm one of the weird-o vegetarians. I don't do anything special and I live in Forks, Washington."

Well that was one was to put it. There was a little bit of a silence after Emmett, but the next person got up and continued on. It went on for hours. I guess I never realized how many vampires there were in the world, how many different talents they could posses. I could tell the number of vampires left to go was dwindling, and soon, Julia was the last one who hadn't gone yet.

Everyone knew it was her turn, and I turned to watch as she took a deep breath and got up onto the platform. She turned slowly to face the crowd. "I'm Julia," she said in her magnificent, crystal clear voice. "I live in Forks, Washington, and I'm married to Connor Cullen. I can find people, if I know them. I…" she glanced at me. "I married Connor when I was a human."

I held my breath and waited. No one moved, no one spoke, and no one reacted. I could tell people were looking at each other, but they must have just learned to accept the unexpected when it came to us. Nessie had been up there, for goodness sake.

"Um," Julia said. She hadn't been expecting this reaction. "And I sing."

She blinked, and hopped down from the platform. Everyone knew that she was the last person to talk, but no one struck up a conversation. In the silence, a woman called out from across the hall, "Then sing!"

The accent was clearly American, but I couldn't put the voice to a name I had recently heard. Julia looked around for the source of the requester. She couldn't see the person, but she looked toward the sound. "Um," Julia said a minute later. "Okay."

And she started to sing. "It's like a slap to the face/ you end up on the ground."

It was like the most beautiful angel's voice only ten times better. I never knew that anything could sound so beautiful.

"Feels like we're losing this fight/ but it's only the first round."

I felt everyone around us unconsciously come closer toward the beautiful song.

"If you take my hand/ then I'll pull you up/ we can take a stand/ we'll be united as one." Julia's voice rang through the end of the decrescendo, and everyone stood in stunned silence for a moment.

Reluctant applause started, and soon it was a rolling roar. Cheers came from all sides of us, and Julia was smiling the biggest smile I had ever seen.


	21. Chapter 21

**Epilogue: D-day**

"Alright, come on over," Edward said as he snapped his phone shut for the fifth time that night. It was midnight, and Edward had just got five consecutive calls from five different wolves saying the exact same thing; their wives were getting contractions. It had been four months since we had been in Volterra, and they were all full-term. Brooke, who was having twins, was still tiny, but her babies were a good size.

"Leah's calling her mom," Edward told me. Carlisle was already up in his office trying to get things ready before they got here, because we were in for one wild night.

"I'll get Rose and Esme," I said. They were out back towards our house with Emmett and Jasper, but we needed all hands on deck.

I sprinted to them and quickly told them what was going on. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Rosalie questioned.

"Nope."

And I was off again. I ran back up into the house, with Rose and Esme trailing behind me. "I'm going to go meet them out front," I told Edward, and he nodded.

I flipped on the porch lights, and I heard Edward start having the girls set up the cots. Paul's old silver Pontiac was the first set of headlights coming down the road. Following close by were Jared and Kim in his Chevy. Brooke and Embry were next, followed by Joel's blue pick-up. Sam and Emily were last, putting along in Sam's jeep.

"Fancy meeting you here tonight," I said as they all headed up the porch steps.

"Ha ha," Joel said.

"Oh this is going to be fun," I said as I opened the door and led the way upstairs.

Leah snorted. "Yeah, okay."

"I'm scared," Brooke said suddenly, but calmly.

I stopped and turned around to look at her. "Me too," I told her. I raised an eyebrow. "Let's do this."

I opened the door and saw several members of my family doing a numerous amount of things. Esme was finishing off the cots, Edward was busy getting everyone's charts ready, Rosalie was pulling out various supplies from a list Edward had written, and Carlisle looked like he was trying to plan for what would happen _after _the babies were born.

"Hi," Edward said as we all came in.

"Hi," a few people sighed.

Carlisle turned toward us. "You know the drill," he said. He pulled the five soft gowns I had nicked from the hospital out of the cabinet. He tossed them at them. "Bathroom's that way," he said, and he jerked his thumb right outside the door.

As they changed, I helped Edward start their charts. We would have to keep track of their progress all at the same time, and that wouldn't be very easy. Esme went downstairs to let Sue and Abbey in when we heard the car. They were the only other help we would have tonight… The thought worried me a bit. Everyone filed back into the room just ahead of Sue, Esme and Abbey.

Leah yawned. "Where are your kids?" I asked everyone.

"Two words; Kaylie and Lauren," Emily said.

"They're watching all of them?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, but they're asleep," Emily said.

I kept my eyebrows raised and nodded my head. "Alright," I said.

Edward finished scribbling out the last chart, and turned toward us at the same time Carlisle did. "Okay," Carlisle said. "Um…" he blinked and looked around. "I think that it would be best if we paired each of you off with one or two of us. Let's see…" he quieted for a moment as he considered who needed to be paired off with whom. "Brooke you're definitely with me," he said decisively, and began to think once again. "Rachel you're with Edward," he said after a minute. "And Kim you'll go with Sue and Rosalie…" he trailed off again. "Um… Leah you're with Bella so… Esme and Abbey will be with Emily."

"Okay," Rachel said.

"Well then," Carlisle said in his calm, sure voice. "Pick your cot."

They all seemed to choose randomly, and when they were all settled down, Carlisle spoke again. "Okay, can you all tell me how fast the contractions are coming?" He turned to Brooke who was at the far end of the room.

"About every nine minutes," Brooke said.

"About that," Kim said.

"Yeah," Rachel agreed.

Emily nodded, and Leah said, "Yep."

Carlisle shook his head. "This is crazy," he sighed. "I like it." He smiled. "We should get you guys checked to see where we're starting." Edward turned around and began looking through the cabinet until he pulled out a box of rubber gloves. He pulled out a pair and handed it to Carlisle, who pulled out another pair and threw the box to me. I pulled out a pair and felt them snap on my wrist.

"Who's brave?" Carlisle prompted to the girls.

"Me, though there's a very good chance I will regret this in a few seconds," Leah said.

"Great," I said. "Love the positive attitude."

She smirked and gave me a thumbs up. "Who else?" Carlisle prompted again. "Two more, and you're all going at some point."

"Emily's going," Leah volunteered.

"Uh, okay," Emily said. She stuck her tongue out at Leah.

"I'll go," Brooke said. I glanced at her.

"Al_right,_" I said.

"Eh, I figure I'm going into it blind," Brooke admitted.

"Whatever you gotta do," I told her.

"Okay," Carlisle said. "Let's get going."

"Assume the position," I said. Joel raised a brow at me. I smirked. Leah sighed and spread her legs. "Just relax and let me know if it hurts more than it should."

"Uh-huh."

It only took me about thirty seconds, but I saw Leah's hand tighten around Joel's.

"I've got about one cm," I said, and I went to write it down on Leah's chart.

"Yep," Edward said next to me, and I passed him the pen.

"Try to relax, Brooke," Carlisle muttered on the other side of the room.

Brooke took a deep breath and let it out, and Carlisle got what he needed in that time frame. "One cm," Carlisle agreed.

I had already moved to check Rachel, and Edward checked Kim. We recorded the same dilation for each of them.

"Well," Carlisle said. "You know the drill; you guys are going to have to walk."

There was a creaking and shuffling as they were all pulled up off their cots, Brooke being last. Seeing as she was having twins, she was quite a bit bigger than the other four girls. She was actually very small considering she was having twins, but definitely big compared to the others.

And so the walking began. They formed a pattern around the big empty house; everyone else had left to go hunting. I noticed the way that they would all get contractions around the same time, or right at the same time. They went around and around the house, over and over again, for a little over two hours. It was about two-thirty in the morning when we brought them back upstairs to get checked.

Once everyone was settled, I began to check Leah. Sue, Abbey, Esme, and Rosalie were observing right now, but they would help with the actual deliveries. Abbey was asking a lot of questions, which we were happy to answer. She was thinking of becoming an OB/GYN when she got out of college. Forks hospital could use one of those…

"I've got about four cm's," I announced.

"Me too," Edward said.

"Uh-huh," Carlisle muttered as he finished with Brooke.

We got the same for Rachel and Kim. "On the bright side," Carlisle said. "That's really good progress. On the not-so-bright side, you've still got six cm's to go."

"Could be worse," Emily commented.

"Could be _way _worse," Rachel agreed.

Kim yawned. "Back to walking," she sighed.

"Yep," I agreed.

They walked for another two hours. They all had several decently sized contractions, and I thought it was interesting to watch how each of them handled it. Leah seemed to like closeness, and always wrapped her arms around Joel, but Emily was very independent and wanted nothing more than Sam's hand to squeeze. Rachel and Kim both straightened their backs and kept walking, while Brooke closed her eyes and leaned into Embry.

After a while, we decided we were going to check them again. Leah winced a little this time, but they had all dilated up to six cm's. As they were all being pulled up to go walk again, Leah went, "Oh!" And stumbled forward a little. Emily sat back onto the bed with a gasp, Rachel put her hands on her face, Kim winced, and Brooke went, "_Ow_…"

I knew that their water had just broken by the sound. I caught Edward's eye for half a second in all the chaos. "Everyone just sit back," I said.

There was some movement as they all did what I suggested. "Okay," Leah sighed as she hit the back of the cot.

Joel had his hand on the back of her neck, rubbing it a little, and had his other hand holding hers. "Well that'll speed things up tremendously," Edward said positively.

"Uh-huh," Emily said breathlessly. "Ow."

"We should check you all again," Carlisle said.

"Oh my," Rachel said.

"Just breathe through it," I suggested. "It'll be over before you know it."

"I know," she sighed.

I moved as fast as I could, but I knew it still must've hurt quite a bit because Rachel stiffened a little. I checked Leah then, and she was the same as Rachel. "I've got about eight-and-a -half," I announced.

"Me too," Edward said as he finished with Emily.

"Same here," Carlisle said. "Why don't you guys walk for just a little longer, and then we'll check you again."

There was a loud creak as they all got pulled up again. They were all moving much slower now. I heard sighs, and gasps, and moans, and winces, and whimpers from downstairs as they all walked around. Slowly for them, and much more quickly for me, an hour ticked by.

We brought them back upstairs to get checked for what would hopefully be the last time. A contraction rocked through Leah's body as I checked her, bringing her up another half- centimeter. She winced. "A little over nine," I said as I finished with Rachel.

Edward nodded. Carlisle agreed as soon as he was done with Brooke. "Just sit tight for a while," Carlisle said. "It should only be a few more minutes before you guys are ready to push…"

He started passing out rubber gloves to all of our 'volunteers'. I heard the very faint creak of metal and flexing of material as Leah's legs stiffened through the next contraction. Joel soothed her quietly. They were almost there…

Exactly twenty-seven minutes later I had just finished checking Leah and Rachel. They were fully dilated, as were Emily, Brooke, and Kim. "Alright," I said. "You guys are ready to push." Esme and Abbey went over to Emily, and Sue and Rosalie went over to Kim. Edward stayed by Rachel, as did Carlisle with Brooke. "Okay," I said once everyone was situated. "You're going to pull your knees up a little, and push your heads down. Hold the push until my count of ten. On three," I said.

They all brought their knees up. Their husbands put their hands under their wives necks, so they could hold their heads up. "One," I counted. "Two… Three."

Leah didn't make a sound as she began to push. She was very strong-willed, and the push was powerful. "Eight…Nine…Ten," I finished. "Very good," I told Leah. "You moved the baby down quite a bit…" I heard reassurances around the room as they prepared for the next push.

"One, two, three," I said, and they started to push again. This time I could see the head as they finished pushing. "You're crowning," I told Leah. "Just a little more now."

"Almost there," I heard Joel whisper, he kissed her head.

"One, two, three," I counted again. With a gasp and a moan from Leah, the head of the baby slipped out. "Ok stop pushing," I said calmly. I heard the same thing going on around me with everyone else. Leah whimpered.

"Push hard now," I coached. "One, two, three," I said one last time.

The baby slipped out easily, and the room was filled with the sound of babies crying. I cut the umbilical cord, and grabbed the blanket from behind me. I laid the baby boy on Leah's chest, seeing her tear-stained smiling face. A thought occurred to me before I had time to do anything else. Brooke had another baby coming…. And Carlisle would need help. I jumped up from where I was kneeling and quickly moved to the other side of the room where Carlisle, as calm as ever, was wrapping the first baby in a blanket. He caught my eye as I came over, and the second I was there, he turned his attention back to Brooke, leaving the screaming baby girl in my arms.

Through all of the chaos, I heard Brooke wince as she pushed again. I heard her whimper and moan, and then the sound of one more baby crying. I looked to the baby I was cradling in my arms; a little girl, strong and healthy. The little boy Carlisle was laying on Brooke's chest looked just as healthy as his sister. Brooke looked a little shocked, but she was smiling. I held out the little girl to Embry. He looked just as shocked as Brooke, but took her and held her like it was the most natural thing in the whole world.

The babies were being soothed and hushed all around the room, and Edward was getting down all of the names.

"Cole Andrew," Joel said.

"Allison Grace," Sam told him.

Edward moved down the line of cots to Paul and Rachel. "Joshua Kyle," Paul sighed.

"Kelsey Renee," Jared muttered.

Edward got to where I was still standing and asked, "Names?"

"Madison Faith," Embry said.

"And Marcus John," Brooke finished quietly.

"Alright," Edward said. "Now we can actually call them something."

"You did awesome Abbey," Esme said.

Abbey smiled. She looked tired, and completely drained, but happy. "That was terrifying," she said breathlessly. "I liked it." I smiled. I knew the feeling well.

"We should get their shots," Carlisle reminded.

About an hour later we were getting ready for a few very important visitors. I had thrown the east window open and the faint light; coming from the sun hid behind the clouds, was flooding throughout the room. The babies slept cradled to chests and swaddled in thick blankets. The moms were exhausted from the middle-of-the-night labor and delivery, but they had agreed to see their wolf families, and their kids, if they had any.

Abbey had driven over to Sam and Emily's house where Lauren and Kaylie were staying with all the kids, and she had returned thirty minutes later to report that they had all gathered there, waiting by the phone for news. Now, I heard cars on the road outside, and I recognized the sound of Jake's old Rabbit.

"I'll go meet them," I said.

I shut the door quietly behind me, and made my way down the stairs. When I opened the door, I was slightly shocked to see my daughter getting out of the Rabbit with Jacob. "Nessie?" I said in surprise.

"Hi," she said. "Sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving, but I woke up super early, like two hours ago. I got about half-way to the big house before I realized what was going on, and I didn't want to bother you, so I just went over to La Push."

I raised my brows and nodded. "Works for me. Trust me, it started getting ugly about two hours ago, so you wouldn't've wanted to be up there anyway."

"Ah," she said. "I thought not."

The other cars were pulling in behind the Rabbit now, and Seth was pulling out the almost-five-year-old Nick with one hand, and carrying two-year-old Lexi in his other arm. They both looked tired, but Nick seemed to realize what was happening, somewhat. Kaylie was holding Jenny's hand, and Jenny was holding Brandon's hand. Brandon looked confused, but let Jenny and Kaylie tot him along. Lauren was carrying both Kristen and David, one in each arm. They looked half asleep.

Several of the younger guys had all squeezed into one car, and soon they were all standing in front of me. I led them up the front steps, and said, "Sh!" briskly.

They silenced immediately. "You don't even want to know what I've done in the past six hours." I told them. "But you do want to know that silence would be a very good thing right now." I smiled a little, and sighed as I opened up the front door.

We made our way up the stairs silently, and I cracked open the door to Carlisle's large office. "Can we come in? Or do you want me to send them all back home?"

"Bring them in," Leah said. "I want to see my other babies."

"Mommy," Alexis said sleepily on Seth's shoulder. She blinked her sleepy, electric blue eyes.

"Okay," I said.

I pushed open the door and went to stand by Edward where he was leaning against the counter. I leaned on him. He wrapped his arms around me. The others slowly followed in behind me. "Daddy," Lexi sighed. He came to take her out of Seth's arms.

"Hi sweetheart," he said. He kissed her head. Kristen and David had both fallen asleep on either one of Lauren's shoulders, and they were dozing quietly.

She peered over his shoulder at her mom, who was holding her baby brother. "Baby," she said, and she pointed her finger at him.

Joel rubbed her back. "Uh-huh," he said. "He's your brother." He told her. "His name is Cole. Can you say that?"

"No," she admitted bluntly to him.

"Thanks for the effort," he said sarcastically.

"Daddy," Jenny said. It was not a question; it was a statement to get his attention.

"Yeah?" Sam responded.

"Can you _please_ tell me if I have a little brother or a little sister?"

A few people laughed at her impatience. "You have a little sister," he told her. "Her name is Allison."

She walked over to where he was sitting to get a better look at the baby, bringing Brandon with her. Sam pulled his son onto his lap, where he looked surprisedly at the baby.

"She's pretty," Jenny sighed. "And very, _very_ little."

"She looks just like you did," Emily sighed. Nick was still clinging to Seth's leg. He seemed much more tentative than Jenny.

"Come here," Leah said, she held out her hand to her first son. He walked toward her slowly. She pulled him into her other arm, and showed him his sleeping brother. "Cole," she said tiredly.

"Cole," he repeated. "He's little."

"That's because he hasn't had time to grow yet," she explained.

He nodded his head. "Why did he come so early in the morning?" he asked with a yawn.

She laughed. "Oh Nick, I have been asking myself that for the past eight hours."

Leah's laugh made both the kids Lauren was holding stir. Kristen popped her head up and looked around. "Mommy," she said immediately.

"I'm right here," Rachel said instinctively. Paul was already on his feet to take his daughter from Lauren. Jared followed, David was still a little asleep, but he'd be fully awake in a moment anyways.

"Seth," Leah said. "Do you want to hold your nephew or not?"

He scrunched up his nose and raised his eyebrows when he looked at the tiny baby. "Little babies scare me. All babies scare me," he added with a sigh. "You're going to make me do it anyway aren't you?"

"Oh yes," Leah said. "And trust me, I just had a baby, you do not want to cross me right now." She wagged a finger at him once.

He shrugged his shoulders and winced. "I'll take your word for it." He sat down on her other side, and she slowly shifted the baby into his arms. He held it gently, but you could tell he had done it before.

"See, it's not so bad," Leah commented. She propped herself up a little. "Brooke? Are you alive?" she smiled at the sarcasm.

"Barely," Brooke said from the other end of the room. "Yeah… I was not prepared for that." She laughed. "Don't want to do that one again."

"Eh, give it two years, then you'll want another baby," Emily said.

"I have two babies; does that mean I get four years?" Brooke questioned.

"Maybe," Emily agreed reluctantly.

Embry sighed. "That was crazy."

"Crazy awesome," I said. "That was the most exciting thing I've ever done as a nurse."

Edward laughed. "Hey," he said. "We work at Forks hospital, life doesn't get more exciting than that."

That got several laughs. Brooke yawned in the corner of the room. She looked like she was dozing already.

"Okay," I said. "I think it's time that everyone gets some sleep." I gestured to the door. "You know the way out."

"That was the most polite way I've ever been kicked out," Wyatt said as he left the room.

"Seth," Joel said. "I'll pay you ten bucks to take Nick and Lexi for the whole day."

"Or," Seth said immediately. "I'll just take Nick and Lexi for the day." He smirked. "Don't argue back, you won't win."

Joel raised his brows. "I see," he said. "Thank-you."

"Uh-huh."

Lauren and Kaylie walked out with the other kids before anybody could really protest. They closed the door behind them, and Abbey and Sue made their way home with the others. Soon, it was just Edward and I upstairs, and we left everyone alone to get some sleep.

Nessie had gone back home with Jake, and we had the house to ourselves. We didn't say anything, just pulled off our shoes and curled up on the couch together. I kissed him, and laid my head on his chest.

"I love you," he said.

I could hear Alice and Jasper in the woods talking about something, and Rosalie and Emmett close by hunting. I knew Esme and Carlisle were at home, probably working on one thing or another. Andrea and Zach were the furthest things I could hear, and they were way over by the Quileute River, watching it rush past. Connor and Julia were alone somewhere in the distance. They had made it just like we had. I knew my daughter and my best friend were together, no matter where they were. Six new lives slept peacefully by their parents just a mile or so away. All was well.

"I love you too," I told him.

**THE END**


End file.
